THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


THE   GROWTH,   PRESENT   CONDITION 

AND    RESOURCES   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES 

WITH  A  FORECAST   OF  THE   FUTURE 


BY 


HENRY   GANNETT 

CHIEF  GEOGRAPHER   OK  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  AND  OF 
THE  TENTH   AND   ELEVENTH   CENSUSES 


ILLUSTRATED   WITH   MAPS,    CHARTS   AXD   DIAGRAMS 


NEW  YORK 

THE  HENRY  T.  THOMAS  COMPANY 
1895 


GENERAL 


COPYRIGHT  1894 
BY   HENRY   T.    THOMAS 


Press  of  J.  J.  Little  &  Co. 
Astor  Place  New  York 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

AN  INDUSTRIAL  REPUBLIC 1 

THE   NATIONAL   DOMAIN 4 

Our  Coasts 5 

The  Relief  of  the  Country 5 

The  Appalachian  Mountain  System C 

The  Appalachian  Valley. 0 

The  Atlantic    Plain 7 

The  Mississippi    Valley 7 

The  Ozark  Hills 7 

The  Great  Plains  and  the   Cordilleran  Plateau....  8 

The  Cordilleras  of  North   America 8 

The  Plateau  Region    9 

The  Great  Basin 10 

Salt  Lake  Basin 11 

Sierra  Nevada 11 

Cascade  Range 11 

Temperature 12 

Rainfall 13 

Forests 15 

GOVERNMENT 16 

GENERAL  GOVERNMENT 17 

Cabinet 18 

Senate 18 

House  of  Representatives 18 

Judiciary 19 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  POWERS 20 

Executive  Divisions, 20 

Department  of  State 21 

Treasury  Department 21 

War  Department 22 


VI 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Department  of  Justice 22 

Post  Office  Department 22 

Navy  Department 22 

Department  of  the  Interior 23 

Department  of  Agriculture 23 

Other  Departments  and  Bureaus 23 

Smithsonian  Institution 24 

ORGANIZATION  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 24 

District  of  Columbia , 25 

A  Idbama 25 

Alaska 25 

Arizona 25 

Arkansas 25 

California 26 

Colorado 26 

Connecticut 26 

Delaware 26 

Florida 26 

Georgia 26 

Idaho 26 

Illinois 26 

Indiana 26 

Indian  Territory 26 

Iowa 26 

Kansas 27 

Kentucky 27 

Louisiana 27 

Maine 27 

Maryland 27 

Massachusetts 27 

Michigan 27 

Minnesota 27 

Mississippi 27 

Missouri 28 

Montana 28 

Nebraska 28 

Nevada ...  28 

Neiv  Hampshire 28 

New  Jersey 28 


CONTENTS  vji 

PAGE 

New  Mexico 28 

New  York 28 

North  Carolina 28 

North  Dakota « 28 

Ohio 29 

Oklahoma 29 

Oregon 29 

Pennsylvania 29 

Rhode  Island 29 

South  Carolina ,  29 

South  Dakota 29 

Tennessee 29 

Texas 29 

Utah 29 

Vermont 29 

Virginia 30 

Washington 30 

West  Virginia 30 

Wisconsin 30 

Wyoming 30 

SuB-Divisioxs  OF  STATES  AND  COUNTIES 31 

GOVERNMENT  DEBTS 32 

National  Debt 33 

State  Debts 36 

Debts  of  Counties  and  Municipalities 37 

BUDGET 40 

MILITARY  FORCES 41 

The  Regular  Army 41 

Organized  Militia 41 

Potential  Militia 42 

THE  NAVY 44 

PENSIONS 45 

PUBLIC  LANDS 45 

Slate  Cessions 46 

Annexation  of  Territory 46 

Method  of  Survey 47 


vjji  CONTENTS 

PAGK 

Methods  of  Disposal 48 

Amount  Alienated 49 

POPULATION 51 

Early  Settlements 51 

Increase  of  Population 53 

Population  of  States 56 

Rate  of  Increase  of  Population  of  States 5G 

Considerations  Affecting  Increase 58 

Recent  Changes 60 

Relative  Standing  of  States 62 

DENSITY  OF  POPULATION 62 

Extent  of  Settlement 63 

Settlement  in  1890 65 

The  Settled  Area 66 

Density  of  Population  ~by  Groups 67 

Density  of  Population  of  States 68 

CENTER  OF  POPULATION 71 

Movements  of  the  Center 71 

URBAN  POPULATION 74 

Distribution  of  the  Urban  Element 77 

Great  Cities  80 

The  Greater  New  York 81 

GEOGRAPHIC  DISTRIBUTION 82 

Distribution  According  to  Temperature 82 

Distribution  Under  Rainfall  Conditions 83 

Distribution  in  Altitude 84 

Size  of  Families 86 

SEX 88 

Distribution  of  the  Sexes  in  European  Countries 88 

Distribution  of  the  Sexes  by  States 89 

RACES 90 

History  of  the  Races 91 

Relative  Diminution  of  the  Colored  Element. . , 92 

Distribution  of  the  Races  by  States 94 

THE  CHINESE..  98 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

THE  INDIANS 99 

Treatment  of  the  Indians 100 

NATIVITY  . 102 

IMMIGRATION 103 

Distribution  of  the  Foreign  Born 105 

Constituents  of  the  Foreign-lorn  Element 108 

History  of  tlie  Several  Elements 109 

77/0  Foreign  Element  in  Cities 113 

Occupations  of  the  Foreign  Born 114 

Illiteracy  of  the  Foreign  Born. 115 

Effect  of  Immigration  upon  Natural  Increase 115 

Foreign  Parentage US 

Summary 123 

POTENTIAL  VOTERS 124 

ALIENS 120 

ILLITERACY 127 

EDUCATION 130 

Public  School* 130 

Enrollment 130 

Expenditure 131 

OCCUPATIONS 133 

Occupations  of  Immigrants.    140 

Change*  in  Occupations   141 

Wages 142 

TRADES  UNIONS 143 

INVENTION 144 

RELIGION.    14G 

Catltulics 147 

Methodists 147 

Baptists 148 

Presbyterians 148 

Lutherans 1 48 

Christians 1 48 

Episcopalians 149 


x  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Congregationalists 149 

Other  Denominations 149 

Distribution  of  Communicants 149 

MORTALITY 151 

Census  Statistics 151 

Causes  of  Death   153 

Mortality  in  Registration  Cities  154 

Death  Rates  of  Countries 155 

CRIME 156 

PAUPERISM 158 

CONJUGAL  CONDITION 159 

Divorce 161 

AGRICULTURE 163 

Relative  Importance  of  Agriculture 163 

General  Statistics 164 

Improved   Land 166 

Tobacco 166 

WJieat 167 

Corn   168 

Oats 169 

Cotton 169 

Bay 171 

Potatoes 171 

Live  Stock  on  Farms  and  Ranches 171 

Distribution  of  Live  Stock 172 

Irrigation 173 

MANUFACTURES 176 

General  Statistics 176 

Iron  and  Steel  Manufactures 180 

Cotton  Industry 182 

Wool  Industry „ 182 

Silk  Industry 1 83 

Books,  Periodicals  and  Newspapers ... .  183 

Spirits,  Wines,  and  Malt  Liquors 184 


CONTENTS  xi 

PACK 

MINERAL   RESOURCES 186 

Coal 187 

Iron 189 

Steel 190 

Gold 190 

Silver 191 

Copper 191 

Lead 192 

Zinc 193 

Quicksilver 193 

Petroleum 193 

Natural  Gat 194 

Salt 194 

TRANSPORTATION 195 

Wagon  Roads 195 

RAILWAYS 196 

Extent 190 

GENERAL  STATISTICS  200 

Traffic  Statistics 200 

Organization 201 

Consolidation 201 

Cost  of  Transportation 202 

Rolling  Stock 203 

Accidents 203 

Objects  of  Construction 203 

ENGINEERING  WORK 204 

WATER  TRANSPORTATION 200 

Vessels  Engaged  in  Foreign  Trade 207 

Coast  and  Internal  Traffic 208 

COMMERCE 209 

Foreign  Commerce 210 

Shipbuilding 214 

TELEGRAPH  LINES 215 

TELEPHONES 215 

STREET  RAILWAYS 210 

MAIL  SERVICE..  .  217 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

FINANCE  AND  WEALTH 219 

NATIONAL  BANKS 220 

SAVINGS  BANKS 221 

WEALTH 221 

Methods  of  Estimating   , 221 

Wealth  in.  1890  223 

Historical  Resume 224 

Assessed  Valuation  in  1890 227 

Sources  of  Wealth 227 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  WEALTH 228 

A   FORECAST  OF  THE  FUTURE 231 

The  Government 23  L 

The  People 233 

Woman 235 

Language 235 

Cities 236 

Corporations 236 

Agriculture 236 

Manufactures 238 

Coal 238 

Electricity 239 

FINIS 240 

INDEX                                                                                            .  241 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

COLORITYPE 
THE  CAPITOL  AT  WASHINGTON Frontispiece 

(From  a  Sketch  by  F.  HOPKINSON  SMITH.) 

COLORP:D  PLATES. 

FACING 

PLATE  1'AUi: 

1.  Net  Public  Debt,  by  Classes  of  Organizations  in  1890   ...  32 
Net  National  Debt,  by  Rates  of  Interest  in  1890 32 

2.  State  Debt  per  Capita,  in  Dollars,  1890 36 

3.  Accessions  of  Territory  (except  Alaska) 46 

4.  The  Settled  Area  in  1790 64 

The  Settled  Area  in  1890 64 

5.  Number  of  Inhabitants  to  a  Square  Mile  in  1890 70 

6.  Proportion  of  Urban  to  Total  Population  in  1890 78 

7.  Proportion  of  Sex  to  Total  Population  in  1890 88 

8.  Number  of  Colored  Persons  to  a  Square  Mile  in  1890 ....  96 
Proportion  of  Colored  to  Total  Population  in  1890 90 

9.  Number  of  Foreign  Born  to  a  Square  Mile  in  1890 loi; 

Proportion  of  Foreign  Born  to  Total  Population  in  1890.  K)6 

10.  Elements  of  the  Population  at  Each  Census 110 

Nationalities  of  the  Foreign  Born,  1850  to  1890 110 

11.  Proportion  of  British  to  Total  Population  in  1890 112 

Proportion  of  Germans  and  Austrians  to  Total  Population 

in  1890   112 

12.  Proportion  of  Canadians  to  Total  Population  in  1890. .  , .  112 
Proportion  of  Irish  to  Total  Population  in  1890 112 

13.  Proportion  of  Scandinavians  to  Total   Population  in  1890  112 
Proportion  of  Native  Whites  of  Native  Parentage  to  All 

Whites  in  1890 112 

14.  Constituents  of  the  Population  of  the  States  in  1890.    ...  120 

15.  Constituents  of  the  Population  of  the  Great  Cities  in  1890  122 

16.  Population  at  Each  Census  Classified  by  Race  and  Nativity  124 

17.  Proportion  of  Persons  who  Cannot  Write,  to  Population, 

Ten  Years  of  Age  or  Over,  in  1880 128 

Proportion  of  Native  Whites  who  Cannot  Write,  to  All 

Native  Whites  of  Ten  Years  of  Age  or  Over,  in  1880.  128 


xiy  LIST  OF  ILLURTRA TIONS 

FACING 
PLATE  PAGE 

18.  Proportion  of  Colored  Persons  who  Cannot  Write,  to  All 

Colored  Ten  Years  of  Age  or  Over,  in  1880 128 

Proportion  of  Foreign  Born  who  Cannot  Write,  to  All 
Foreign  Born  Ten  Years  of  Age  or  Over,  in  1880 128 

19.  Proportion  of  Enrollment  in  All  Schools,  to  Children  of 

School  Age  in  1890 132 

Expenditure  in  Dollars,  per  Capita,  of  Children  Enrolled 

in  Public  Schools  in  1890 , 132 

20.  Proportion   of   Persons   Engaged   in   Agriculture  to  All 

Wage-Earners  in  1880 134 

Proportion   of   Persons   Engaged   in   Manufacturing  and 

Mining  to  All  Wage-Earners  in  1880 134 

21.  Proportion  of  Catholics  to  Total  Population  in  1890 148 

Proportion  of  Methodists  to  Total  Population  in  1890  . .  .   148 

22.  Proportion  of  Baptists  to  Total  Population  in  1890 148 

Proportion  of  Presbyterians  to  Total  Population  in  1890..  148 

23.  Proportion  of  Lutherans  to  Total  Population  in  LS90   ...    148 
Proportion  of  Christians  to  Total  Population  in  1890 148 

24.  Proportion  of  Episcopalians  to  Total  Population  in  1890. .   148 
Proportion  of  Congregationalists  to  Total  Population  in 

1890 148 

25.  Proportion  of  Church  Members  to  Total  Population  in 

1890 150 

26.  Proportion   which  the  Number  of  Deaths  from  Certain 

Diseases  Bore  to  All  Deaths  in  the  United  States  in 
1890 152 

27.  The  Prisoners  of  the  United  States  in  1890 156 

28.  Relative  Value  of  the  Industries  of  the  United  States  in 

1890 164 

29.  Proportion   of  Cultivated  Land    to   Total   Area   of  the 

Country 164 

30.  Proportion  of  Cultivated  Land  to  Total  Area  in  1890 166 

31.  Production  of  Wheat,  in  Bushels,  per  Square  Mile  of  Total 

Area  in  1889 168 

Yield  of  Wheat  per  Acre,  in  Bushels,  in  1889 168 

32.  Production,  in  Bushels,  of  Indian  Corn  per  Square  Mile 

of  Total  Area  in  1889 168 

Yield,  in  Bushels,  of  Corn  per  Acre  in  1889 168 

33.  Production,  in  Bushels,  of  Oats  per  Square  Mile  of  Total 

Area  in  1889 168 

Yield,  in  Bushels,  of  Oats  per  Acre  in  1889 ,,   168 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

FACING 
PLATE  PAGE 

34.  Yield  of  Cotton,  in  Bales,  per  Square  Mile  of  Total  Area 

in  1889 168 

Yield  of  Cotton  per  Acre,  in  Tenths  of  Bales,  in  1889 168 

35.  Number  of  Tons  of  Hay  Raised  per  Square  Mile  of  Total 

Area  in  1888 , 168 

Number  of  Bushels  of  Potatoes  Raised  per  Square  Mile  of 

Total  Area  in  1888 168 

36.  Proportional  Value   of  the  Principal  Products  of  Agri 

culture  in  1889 170 

37.  Number  of  Horses  and  Mules  per  Square  Mile  in  1892 172 

Number  of  Cattle  per  Square  Mile  in  1892 172 

38.  Number  of  Sheep  per  Square  Mile  in  1892 172 

Number  of  Hogs  per  Square  Mile  in  1892 172 

30.    The  Circulating  Media  in  1893 220 

40.    Assessed  Valuation  per  Capita,  in  Hundreds  of  Dollars, 

1890  . .  .228 


TEXT  ILLUSTRATIONS. 
MAPS  AXD  DIAGRAMS. 

TAGK 

National  Debt  of  the  World,  1848  to  1890 32 

The  National  Debt,  1856  to  1 891 34 

The  National  Debt  Less  Cash  in  the  Treasury. 

The  National  Debt  per  Capita,  Less  Cash  in  the  Treasury. 

The  National  Debt,  1856  to  1891 35 

Annual  Interest  Charge. 

Annual  Interest  Charge  per  Capita. 

Indebtedness  of  States  in  1890 38 

State  Debt  per  Capita  in  1890. 39 

Population  of  Countries  of  the  Globe  in  1890 54 

Population  of  Each  State  and  Territory  in  1890 50 

Density  of  Total  Population  at  each  Census 03 

Number  of  Inhabitants  per  Square  Mile  in  Various  Countries 

in  1890 04 

Number  of  Inhabitants  per  Square  Mile  in  1890 70 

Position  of  the  Center  of   Population  at   the  Close  of  Each 

Decade  from  1790  to  1890 73 

The  Total  Urban  and  Rural  Population  at  Each  Census 70 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Aggregate  Population  and  Urban  Element  in  Cities  of  8,000 

or  More  Inhabitants,  by  States,  in  1890 79 

Average  Number  of  Persons  to  a  Family  in  1890 87 

Rate  of  Increase — White  and  Colored 93 

Constituents  of  the  Total  Immigration  and  of  the  Immigration 

Between  1880  and  1890 106 

Principal  Constituents  of  the  Foreign  Born  in  1890 109 

Rates  of  Increase  of  All  Whites  and  of  the  Native  Element  of 

the  North  and  of  All  Whites  of  the  South 116 

Proportion  of  Aliens  to  Total  Population  in  1890 126 

Proportion  of  Church  Members  to  Aggregate  Population  in  1890  1 50 

Death  Rate  of  the  Great  Cities  in  1890 155 

Death  Rates  of  Various  Countries  in  1890 156 

Value  of  Farms,  Implements  and  Machinery 165 

Number  of  Farms 165 

Average  Size  of  Farms,  1850  to  1890 165 

Yield  of  Tobacco,  in  Pounds,  per  Square  Mile  of  Total  Area 

in  1889 167 

Products  of  Manufactures  in  Leading  Cities  in  1890 180 

Annual  Production  of  Iron  and  Steel , .  181 

Value  of  Principal  Mineral  Products  in  1889 187 

Railway  Mileage  of  the  United  States,  1830  to  1890 197 

Railway  Mileage  of  the  World  for  1890,  by  Countries 198 

Miles  of  Railway  per  10,000  Inhabitants,  by  Countries,  in  1890  199 

Principal  Articles  of  Foreign  Commerce 212 

Imports  and  Exports,  1843  to  1892 213 

Total  Wealth  of  the  United  States 225 

Wealth  per  Capita 225 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

GOVERNMENT. 

PAGE 

Areas  of  the  States  and  Territories  in  Square  Miles 30 

Civil  Divisions  of  the  United  States  in  1800 32 

Government  Debts  in  1880  and  1800 33 

Principal  Items  of  Expenditure 40 

Receipts  and  Expenditures  per  Capita,  1872  to  1891    40 

Classification  of  the  Regular  Army 41 

Distribution  of  Organized  State  Militia 42 

Classification  of  the  Militia 42 

Proportions  of  Potential  Militia  and  Population 43 

Cost  and  Area  of  Acquired  Territory 40 

Disposition  Made  of  Public  Lands 49 


POPULATION. 

Estimated  Population  prior  to  1700 52 

Population  and  Rate  of  Increase  by  Decades 53 

Total  Population  by  States  in  1890 55 

Percentage  of  Increase  of  Population  by  Decades 57 

Area  and  Density  of  Population  at  Each  Census C2 

Settled  and  Unsettled  Area  at  Each  Census C6 

Rates  of  Increase  of  Settled  Area  and  of  Population 07 

Classification  of  Settled  Area 07 

Area  in  Square  Miles  of  the  Different  Classes  of  Settlement. .  .  08 

Population  per  Square  Mile,  by  States,  in  1800 09 

Position  of  the  Center  of  Population 71 

Urban  and  Rural  Elements  of  Population.  ...    75 

Urban  and  Rural  Increase  by  Decades 77 

Urban  Population  by  Geographic  Divisions 78 

Cities  of  Over  100,000  Population  in  1890 80 

Number  of  Cities,  Classified  According  to  Population 81 

Distribution  of  Population  as  to  Mean  Annual  Temperature. .  82 

Distribution  of  Population  as  to  Mean  Annual  Rainfall 84 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

PAGE 

Distribution  of  Population  as  to  Altitude 85 

Size  of  Families  at  Each  Census 86 

Proportion  of  the  Sexes,  1850  to  1890 88 

Proportions  of  the  Sexes  in  Foreign  Countries 88 

Percentage  of  the  Sexes  to  Total  Population  in  1890 89 

White  and  Colored  Population  at  Each  Census 91 

Proportion  of  White  and  Colored  by  Decades 91 

Increase  of  White  and  Colored  by  Decades 92 

White  and  Colored  Population  in  1890 95 

Percentage  of  Colored  to  Total  Population. . .       9G 

Proportion  of  the  Colored  Element  at  Each  Census  98 

The  Chinese  Population  by  Decades 98 

Nativity  of  the  Population,  1850  to  1890 102 

Ratio  of  Native  and  Foreign  Population,  1850  to  1890 102 

Immigration,  1821  to  1890,  by  Decades 103 

Principal  Constituents  of  the  Immigration 104 

Native  and  Foreign  Born  Population  in  1890 105 

Percentage  of  Native  and  Foreign  Born  to  Total  Population, 

1890 106 

Percentage  of  the  Foreign  Element,  1850  to  1890 107 

Foreign  Born  by  Principal  Nationalities,  1890 108 

Percentages  of  Total  Population 110 

Proportion   of   Different  Nationalities  to   the  Total  Foreign 

Population  in  1890 112 

Proportion  of  White  Population  of  Native  and  Foreign  Parent 
age 120 

Constituents  of  the  Population  of  the  Great  Cities 121 

Proportion  of  the  Principal  Elements  of  Foreign  Birth  to  the 

Total  Foreign  Born,  in  Cities 122 

Composition  of  the  Population,  1890 124 

Proportion  of  Potential  Voters  and  of  Total  Population 125 

Colleges  and  Professional  Schools,  and  Attendance   132 

Distribution  of  Breadwinners  by  Classes 134 

Proportion   of  the  Number  of  Persons  in  the  United  States 

Engaged  in  Each  Class  of  Occupations 134,  135 

Proportion  of  Breadwinners  of  Each  Nationality 138 

Distribution  of  Breadwinners  by  Occupations 138 

Hatio  of  Native  and  Foreign   Born  Wage  Earners  to  Total 

Population,  by  Classes 139 

Occupations  of  Immigrants,  Classified 140 


LIST  OF  TABLES  x|x 


PAGE 


Ratio  of  Immigrants  Engaged  in  Certain  Classes  of  Labor  to 

Total  Immigrants 141 

Elements  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor 1-13 

Membership  of  Principal  Religious  Denominations 140 

Ratio  of  Deaths  from  Certain  Diseases  to  Total  Mortality.    ...  153 

Mortality  in  Registration  Cities 154 

Death  Rates  per  Thousand  in  Various  Countries 155 

Race  and  Nativity  of  Prisoners  and  of  Population 157 

Number  of  Prisoners  of  Each  Class  in  10,000  Inhabitants 157 

Distribution  of  Paupers  by  Race  and  Nativity 159 


AGRICULTURE. 

Value,  Number,  and  Size  of  Farms,,  and  Value  of  Products 

by  Decades 165 

Yield  of  Cotton  in  1889,  by  States 170 

Number  and  Value  of  Farm  Animals  in  189^ 172 

Irrigated  Area  and  Total  Area  Compared 174 


MANUFACTURES. 

Statistics  of  Manui'ac-tures  from  1850  to  1890  by  Decades 177 

Average  Capital  Invested  in  Each  Establishment 17<S 

Average  Wages  per  Hand  Employed 178 

Proportions   of    Net    Product    Shared    by    Employes   and    by 

Capital 179 

Ratio  of  Net  Product  to  Capital 179 

Number  and  Circulation  of  Periodicals  by  Classes 184 

Spirituous  and  Malt  Liquors  Produced  in  1891 184 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

Quantity  and  Value  of  Non-Metallic  Products  in  1891 186 

Quantity  and  Value  of  Metallic  Products  in  1891 187 

Coal  Product  of  the  Several  States  in  1891 188 

Production  of  Pig  Iron  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 

by  Decades 190 

Sources  of  the  Production  of  Zinc  in  1890. .  ,  193 


xx  LIST  OF  TABLES 

TRANSPORTATION. 

PAGE 

Railway  Capital,  Operating  Expenses,  Earnings,  etc 200 

Railway  Traffic  for  the  Year  Ending  June  30,  1890 201 

Classification  of  the  American  Fleet 207 

Freight  Moved  by  Water  in  1890 209 

Value  of  Principal  Imports  in  1891,  Classified 211 

Value  of  Principal  Exports  in  1891,  Classified. 211 

Number  and  Tonnage  of  Vessels  Built  in  1892 214 

FINANCE   AND  WEALTH. 

Money  in  Circulation  in  1891 , ...  219 

Coinage  in  1890,  Classified 220 

Total  and  Per  Capita  Wealth  by  Decades 224 

Rate  of  Increase  of  Wealth  by  Decades 225 

Holdings  of  the  Different  Classes  of  Wage  Earners 229 

Holdings  of  All  Wage  Earners 229 

Distribution  of  Wealth  in  Percentages  of  the  Total 230 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


AX  INDUSTRIAL  REPUBLIC 


LITTLE  more  than  a  century  ago.  a  new  nation  came  into 
being  on  the  western  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  When  the  contest 
with  the  mother  country  was  at  last  ended,  the  rising  smoke  of 
battle  disclosed  a  group  of  feeble  colonies,  held  together  only  by 
the  necessity  for  defense  against  a  common  enemy,  and  drawn 
asunder  bv  difference  of  interests,  difference  of  origin,  class 
distinctions,  and  mutual  jealousies.  They  were  poor  before  the 
burden  of  war  was  laid  upon  them  :  they  were  bankrupt  when 
the  struggle  closed.  Their  commerce,  their  petty  manufactures, 
had  been  destroyed  :  their  fields  had  been  laid  waste. 

To  unite  and  harmonize  these  colonies  was  the  first  step  toward 
the  building  of  the  nation. 

With  vast  labor  and  great  wisdom,  the  fathers  of  the  Repub 
lic  devised  a  plan  <jf  confederation  which  on  the  one  hand 
would  weld  the  colonies  into  a  stable  nation,  and  on  the  other 
would  antagonize  as  little  as  possible  their  varying  interests  and 
prejudices.  This  plan  was  embodied  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  a  masterpiece  of  human  creation.  Prepared  to 
serve  the  needs  of  thirteen  small  states,  numbering  only  three 
millions  of  people,  it  now  governs  equally  well  sixty-five  mil 
lions,  distributed  over  fiftv  states  and  territories — a  people  more 
numerous  and  diverse,  and  having  vastlv  more  diverse  interests. 
than  the  framers  of  that  great  work  could  have  imagined. 


2  THE   BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

Thev  builded  better  than  they  knew.  The  freedom  guaran 
teed  by  that  great  state  paper  to  individuals,  to  communities,  and 
to  states,  has  contributed,  more  than  any  other  single  agency, 
to  the  career  of  magnificent  prosperity  which  this  country  has 
pursued,  almost  without  interruption. 

As  soon  as  the  young  nation  had  shaken  off  its  load  of  debt, 
it  gathered  itself  together  and  commenced  the  work  of  develop 
ment — a  work  which,  with  trifling  interruptions,  it  has  continued 
at  a  constantly  accelerating  pace.  Nation  after  nation  has  been 
overtaken  in  the  industrial  race.  Nation  after  nation  has  strug 
gled  to  maintain  its  lead  ;  but  the  young  giant  of  the  West  has  set 
them  too  hot  a  pace,  and,  one  after  another,  all  have  fallen  behind. 
The  last  competitor  was  the  mother  country,  and  long  and  hard 
was  the  struggle  she  made  against  her  offspring;  but  at  last,  in 
industry  as  in  war,  she  has  been  forced  to  give  way,  and  see  her 
child  not  only  pass,  but  distance  her  in  the  race. 

As  in  the  regatta  for  the  Queen's  cup  at  which  an  American 
yacht  first  entered,  America  is  in  the  lead,  and  "  there  is  no 
second." 

In  numbers,  wealth,  industry,  enterprise,  ease,  and  dignity  of 
living — in  short,  in  all  that  goes  to  make  civilization,  the  Ameri 
can  Republic,  at  the  end  of  its  first  century,  stands  the  acknowl 
edged  leader  of  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

What  has  conspired  to  induce  this  remarkable  career  of 
prosperity?  It  is  not  due  to  any  single  cause,  as  may  be 
easily  shown  by  comparison  with  countries  in  which  the  same 
conditions  operate,  but  to  a  combination  of  causes.  First 
among  these  are  the  freedom  and  liberality  of  its  institutions, 
which,  by  favoring  none  and  giving  an  equal  chance  to  all, 
have  stimulated  ambition  and  enabled  every  man  to  make  the 
most  of  his  career.  That  this  has  had  a  tremendous  effect  upon 
the  people  of  the  country,  may  be  seen  by  comparing  its  history 
with  that  of  other  countries  under  much  the  same  physical 
conditions,  but  under  very  different  institutions.  Compare,  for 
instance,  the  history  of  the  United  States  with  that  of  Canada, 
with  the  Australian  colonies,  with  Russia;  or,  to  bring  the  com 
parison  nearer  home,  compare  the  United  States  of  the  past 
century  with  the  colonies  during  the  century  preceding.  Al- 


AN  INDUSTRIAL  REPUBLIC  3 

though  occupying  the  same  territory,  although  substantially  the 
same  people,  they  made  comparatively  little  progress  either 
materially  or  socially  while  under  the  dominion  of  a  monarch}^. 

Secondly,  its  domain  of  three  and  a  half  millions  of  square 
miles  afforded  ample  room  for  expansion,  with  every  variety  of 
climate,  and  with  surpassing  resources  of  soil  and  mineral 
deposits.  Its  climate  and  soil  are  so  varied  as  to  make  it 
agriculturally  almost  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  Its 
mineral  resources  are  so  vast  and  so  varied  that  there  is  scarcely 
a  metal  or  a  mineral  that  need  be  purchased  abroad. 

The  United  States  is  an  industrial  nation.  Its  young  men, 
instead  of  being  trained  to  the  profession  of  arms,  are  devoted  to 
the  arts  and  industries.  Instead  of  maintaining  great  standing 
armies  into  which  are  drafted  the  strength  of  the  nation,  for  the 
purpose  of  threatening  the  peace  of  the  world,  it  has  a  vast 
industrial  army,  which  is  occupied  in  producing  instead  of  de 
stroying. 

While  enumerating  the  reasons  for  its  prosperity,  the  character 
of  the  stock  with  which  the  country  was  peopled  must  not  be 
forgotten.  Energy  and  enterprise  are  qualities  that  specially 
distinguish  the  Anglo-Saxon.  His  power  of  adaptation  to  new 
conditions,  and  his  inventive  genius,  render  him  preeminently  a 
colonizer,  and  in  this  broad  and  virgin  field  he  has  displayed  these 
qualities  as  they  have  been  shown  nowhere  else  in  the  world. 

Add  to  all  this,  wise  and  liberal  legislation,  not  forgetting  the 
provision  for  free  education,  and  the  summary  of  the  leading  rea 
sons  for  America's  marvelous  development  is  complete. 

It  is  now  in  order  to  examine  the  present  status  of  our  popu 
lation,  our  social  life,  and  our  industries,  and  to  follow  the  course 
of  their  growth  throughout  the  century. 


THE    NATIONAL    DOMAIN 


AT  certain  intervals  the  prudent  merchant  balances  his  books, 
goes  over  his  stock  in  trade,  estimates  its  value,  and  strikes  a 
balance  with  the  world,  to  find  out  whether  during  the  interval 
he  has  made  or  lost  money,  and  how  much.  Most  civilized 
nations  do  a  similar  thing,  some  more,  some  less  thoroughly, 
the  United  States  the  most  thoroughly  of  all,  for  its  decennial 
census  is  a  taking  account  of  stock.  Although  the  census  does 
not  deal  with  all  the  items  of  national  progress,  those  which  it 
omits  are  omitted  because  they  are  the  subject  of  special  exami 
nation  by  other  parts  of  the  governmental  organization.  This 
volume  undertakes  to  bring  together  all  the  physical  and  material 
items  concerned  in  the  nation's  progress. 

First  of  all  to  be  described  in  such  a  schedule  of  assets,  is 
the  home  of  the  American  people,  the  country  in  which  we  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  have  been  planted,  and  in  which  we  have 
so  wondrously  developed.  This  involves  a  description  of  the 
country  with  its  variations  of  surface,  of  its  streams  with  their 
adaptability  to  navigation  and  to  .irrigation,  of  its  coast  line  as 
it  lends  itself  to  the  promotion  of  commerce,  of  its  climate  as  it 
affects  the  distribution  of  the  people,  of  its  influence  upon  health, 
and  of  its  latent  resources  hidden  in  the  soil  and  rocks.  All 
these  collectively  have  had  a  tremendous  influence  upon  the 
development  of  the  American  people. 

Our  territory  consists  of  two  distinct  parts,  the  smaller  of 
which,  the  territory  of  Alaska,  comprising  five  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand  square  miles,  occupies  the  extreme  northwest 
ern  portion  of  the  continent.  The  great  body  of  the  country, 
including  five-sixths  of  its  area,  and  containing  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  out  of  every  thousand  of  its  inhabitants,  occu 
pies  the  middle  portion  of  the  continent,  stretching  from  latitude 


THE  NATIONAL   DOMAIN  5 

twenty -five  to  forty-nine,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  the 
Pacific.  Its  area  is  3,025,600  square  miles,  not  greatly  different 
from  that  of  Canada  or  Australia,  and  not  much  less  than  that 
of  all  Europe. 

Our  Coasts. — The  eastern  or  Atlantic  coast  is  a  very 
broken  one,  abounding  in  harbors,  several  of  them  deep  and 
lanre  enough  to  float  the  navies  of  the  world.  The  coast  of 

o  O 

Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts  is,  for  the  most  part, 
an  intricate  one,  with  many  long,  narrow,  rugged  points  shelter 
ing  deep,  fiord-like  bays,  and  studded  with  thousands  of  rugged 
islands.  In  southern  New  England  the  character  of  the  coast  is 
very  different,  being  low  and  sandy,  with  lines  of  reefs  against 
which  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  beat,  enclosing  on  the  shoreward 
side  bays,  lagoons,  and  swamps,  out  of  which  gently  rises  the 
mainland.  This  character  of  coast  extends  southward  to  Florida 
and  around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

The  Pacific  coast  is  of  still  another  type.  From  Lower 
California  northward  to  Puget  sound  it  is  simple,  containing 
only  two  or  three  indentations  which  can  be  called  harbors. 
From  the  coast  the  land  rises  steeplv  into  mountains  and  de 
scends  abruptly  to  great  depths.  The  Strait  of  Fuca,  on  the 
northern  extremity  of  our  western  coast,  is  a  gap  in  the  moun 
tains  which  lets  the  water  of  the  sea  into  a  depression  in  the 
great  vallev  between  the  Coast  and  Cascade  ranges,  forming  an 
immense  harbor,  Puget  sound,  in  which  the  merchant  marine  of 
all  nations  could  be  easily  anchored. 

The  Relief  of  the  Country. — A  correct  idea  of  the  relief 
of  the  country  can  be  best  obtained  by  considering  first  its 
broader  outlines.  It  has  two  systems  of  uplift.  The  east 
ernmost  and  smallest,  known  as  the  Appalachian  system,  runs 
from  the  northeast  toward  the  southwest  at  a  little  distance 
back  from  the  Atlantic  coast,  extending  from  Canada  down  into 
Alabama.  The  second  and  vastly  greater  system  occupies  most 
of  the  western  half  of  the  continent,  extending  from  Colorado, 
New  Mexico,  Wyoming,  and  Montana,  westward  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  Between  the  two  mountain  systems  is  a  great  valley,  or 
depression,  the  southern  and  larger  part  of  which  is  occupied 
by  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  while  the  northern 


6  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

portion  is  drained  by  the  system  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  St. 
Lawrence.  These  are  the  broader  features  of  the  country.  Let 
us  now  consider  them  somewhat  more  in  detail. 

The  Appalachian  3Iouiitaiu  System. — In  the  north 
eastern  States  the  Appalachian  mountain  system  is  very  irregu 
lar,  consisting  of  detached  groups  and  short  ridges.  Among 
these  are  the  broken  hills  of  northwestern  Maine,  and  the  White 
mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  which,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  summits  in  North  Carolina,  are  the  highest  of  the  whole 
system.  Among  them  is  Mount  Washington,  which  reaches  an 
elevation  of  6,291  feet.  The  Green  mountains  of  Vermont,  and 
the  Adirondacks  of  northern  New  York,  form  part  of  this 
system. 

Passing  into  Pennsylvania,  the  system  acquires  a  regularity 
which  is  unknown  to  the  northward.  It  consists  of  two  distinct 
parts,  or  members,  the  westernmost  of  which,  known  in  this  state 
as  the  Alleghany  plateau,  is  a  deeply  eroded  plateau  with  a  well- 
defined  escarpment,  or  cliff,  on  the  southeast,  and  a  gentle  slope 
to  the  northwest.  This  plateau  extends  southwestward  to  Ala 
bama,  being  known  through  the  Virginias,  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Alabama,  as  the  Cumberland  plateau.  It  presents  every 
where  the  same  uniform  front  to  the  southeast,  consisting  of  a 
cliff  from  one  to  two  thousand  feet  in  height,  and  a  similarly 
uniform  slope  to  the  west  and  north. 

The  Appalachian  Valley. — The  other  member  of  this 
system  lies  southeast  of  the  Cumberland  plateau,  and  is  known 
as  the  Appalachian  valley.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  continuous  valley, 
stretching  from  the  Hudson  river  far  into  Alabama,  with  the 
general  southwesterly  trend  of  the  mountain  system.  It  is  a 
region  of  extensive  and  complicated  folding  of  strata,  this  fold 
ing  being  coupled  with  enormous  erosion,  which  has  produced 
a  succession  of  mountain  ranges  and  ridges,  long,  narrow,  and 
sinuous,  trending  parallel  to  the  direction  of  the  valley. 

Some  of  these  ranges  are  of  vast  extent,  stretching  for  hun 
dreds  of  miles  with  scarcely  a  break;  others  form  complicated 
loops,  twists,  and  turns.  The  valley  is  terminated  on  the  south 
east  by  one  of  these  ridges,  known  in  Pennsylvania  as  South 
Mountain,  and  farther  south  as  the  Blue  Ridge.  It  reaches  an 


THE  NATIONAL   DOMAIN  7 

elevation  of  twelve  hundred  feet  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  four 
thousand  feet  at  the  peaks  of  Otter  in  Virginia;  while  in  North 
Carolina  it  widens  out,  and,  in  place  of  a  single  ridge,  develops 
into  a  maze  of  high  ranges,  trending  in  various  directions,  and 
standing  upon  a  base  a  thousand  feet  or  more  above  sea  level. 

In  this  region  are  the  Black  mountains,  the  highest  peak  of 
which,  Mount  Mitchell,  has  an  altitude  of  six  thousand  seven 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea;  also  the  Big  Smoky  mountains  on 
the  boundary  line  between  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  many 
peaks  of  which  range  between  five  and  six  thousand  feet. 

The  Alleghany-Cumberland  plateau  forms  an  important  water 
divide.  Through  most  of  its  course  its  escarpment  separates 
streams  flowing  directly  to  the  Atlantic,  from  those  flowing 
westward  into  the  Mississippi.  Certain  streams,  however,  and 
those  the  most  powerful  ones,  have  broken  through  this  escarp 
ment,  some  in  one  direction,  some  in  another.  For  instance,  the 
Susquehanna,  of  Pennsylvania,  heads  far  back  in  the  plateau  and 
cuts  through  this  escarpment  in  its  course  to  the  Atlantic.  The 
Potomac  likewise  heads  back  in  the  highest  part  of  the  plateau. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Kanawha  river,  with  its  main  branch, 
New  river,  heads  in  the  Blue  Kidge,  and  flowing  westward  cuts 
through  the  plateau,  making  a  gorge  from  its  summit  nearly  to 
sea  level.  The  Tennessee  drains  the  southern  part  of  the  great 
Appalachian  valley,  and,  collecting  its  waters,  flows  across  the 
southern  end  of  the  plateau  into  the  Ohio. 

The  Atlantic  Plain.— East  of  the  Appalachian  system, 
the  countrv  slopes  directlv  to  the  low  ground  bordering  the 
Atlantic.  From  New  Jersey  southward,  this  Atlantic  plain  is 
comparatively  level  and  unbroken,  excepting  for  the  beds  of  the 
streams.  In  New  England,  however,  the  country  is  much  more 
broken,  deeply  scored  by  streams,  and  built  up  by  glacial 
deposits. 

The  Mississippi  Valley.— The  great  valley  of  the  United 
States,  speaking  broadly,  is  a  level  expanse.  In  southern  Ohio, 
however,  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Ohio  river  have  eroded 
deep  valleys. 

The  Ozark  Hills. — The  northwestern  part  of  Arkansas 
and  southern  Missouri  are  occupied  by  what  are  known  collect- 


8  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

ively  as  the  Ozark  hills,  a  region  which  until  recent  years  was 
almost  a  terra  incognita.  This  region  presents  many  points  of 
similarity  to  the  Appalachian.  South  of  the  Arkansas  river  in 
Arkansas,  the  Ozark  hills  consist  of  east  and  west  ridges  rudely 
parallel  to  one  another,  but  crooked  and  winding  in  detail,  with 
many  spurs  and  offshoots.  That  part  of  the  hills  north  of  the 
Arkansas  river  in  Arkansas  and  Missouri  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
an  eroded  plateau,  where  the  streams  occupy  deep  gorges  which 
they  have  excavated  in  its  originally  level  surface. 

The  Great  Plains  and  the  Cordilleraii  Plateau.— 
West  of  the  Mississippi  river  the  country  gradually  rises  more 
and  more  rapidly,  forming  the  eastward  slope  of  a  great  elevated 
plateau,  crowned  by  an  interminable  succession  of  mountain 
ranges  extending  from  the  middle  of  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and 
\Vvoming,  westward  to  the  Pacific  coast.  This  long  slope  of 
the  plains,  stretching  for  a  thousand  miles  westward,  and  from 
the  Rio  Grande  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the  country,  with 
scarcely  a  break  in  its  rolling  expanse,  is  one  of  the  grandest 
features  of  the  continent. 

The  mountain  system,  also,  is  on  a  commensurate  scale,  ex 
tending  from  longitude  one  hundred  and  five  degrees  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  and  from  the  Mexican  boundary  to  that  of  Canada. 
Tt  has  a  length  from  north  to  south  of  twelve  hundred  miles, 
and  a  breadth  of  a  thousand  miles.  With  its  mountains,  valleys, 
deserts,  and  plains,  it  comprises  fully  one-third  of  the  area  of 
the  United  States.  This  plateau  reaches  the  greatest  elevation 
near  its  eastern  border  in  Colorado,  where  it  is  not  far  from  ten 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  From  this  summit  it  descends  in 
all  directions,  to  about  four  thousand  feet  in  southern  New 
Mexico  and  the  same  elevation  in  Montana  on  the  British 
boundary.  Descending  toward  the  west,  the  plateau  is  four 
thousand  feet  in  the  valley  of  Great  Salt  lake,  from  whence 
it  rises  again  to  six  thousand  feet  in  central  Nevada,  and  then 
sinks  to  the  level  of  the  Pacific. 

The  Cordilleras  of  North  America.— This  plateau  is 
crowned  by  a  vast  number  of  mountain  ranges  of  various  eleva 
tions,  the  highest  of  them  reaching  nearly  fifteen  thousand  feet. 
The  system  on  our  northern  boundary  is  comparatively  narrow, 


THE  NATIONAL  DOMAIN  9 

extending  from  longitude  one  hundred  and  twelve  to  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-four,  thus  having  a  breadth  of  only  about  five 
hundred  miles.  Southward,  its  eastern  boundary  extends  rapidly 
to  the  eastward,  giving  the  system  its  maximum  breadth  in 
Colorado. 

The  easternmost  ranges  of  this  system  are  commonly  classified 
as  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  these  again  may  be  further  sub 
divided  into  two  parts,  the  northern  and  southern,  which  are 
separated  from  one  another  by  a  broad  stretch  of  plateau.  The 
southern  Rocky  mountain  region  comprises  the  ranges  in  south 
ern  Wyoming,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico,  and  includes  a  series 
of  ranges  trending  nearly  north  and  south,  and  enclosing  high 
mountain  valleys  which  are  called  parks,  the  best  known  among 
them  being  the  North,  South,  Middle,  and  San  Luis  parks,  of 
Colorado. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  mountains  in 
Colorado  are  the  highest  in  the  country,  exclusive  of  Alaska. 
These  ranges  contain  scores  of  peaks  whose  altitude  exceeds 
fourteen  thousand  feet,  with  great  areas  of  country  lying  above 
the  limit  of  timber,  which  in  this  state  has  the  extreme  altitude 
of  eleven  to  twelve  thousand  feet.  The  easternmost  of  these 
ranges,  the  Front.  Park,  Sawatch,  and  Sangrc  de  Cristo  ranges, 
are  broad  and  massive,  while  the  Elk  and  San  Juan  mountains 
in  the  western  portion  of  the  group,  are  extremely  rugged. 

The  northern  group  of  the  Rocky  mountains  extends  from  the 
Wind  River  and  Bighorn  ranges  in  northern  Wyoming,  across 
western  Montana  and  Idaho.  They  are  by  no  means  as  high  as 
those  of  the  southern  group,  varying  from  thirteen  thousand 
seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  in  tho  Wind  River  range,  down  to 
nine  or  ten  thousand  feet  in  the  more  northerly  ranges. 

The  Plateau  Region. — The  heart  of  this  mountain  region 
is  drained  by  the  Colorado  river  and  its  tributaries.  Its  drainage 
area  is  very  peculiar.  Around  its  borders  are  high  mountains, 
the  Rocky  mountains  on  the  east,  the  Wind  River  range  on  the 
north,  and  the  Wasatch  on  the  west.  From  these  ranges  flow 
the  little  streams  which  make  up  the  Colorado.  Leaving  the 
mountains,  these  streams  enter  a  region  of  plateaus,  great  level 
expanses  stretching  farther  than  the  eye  can  reach,  without  hill 


10  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

or  valley,  and  with  scarcely  an  undulation  in  the  level  surface. 
Where  a  plateau  ends  there  is  a  line  of  abrupt  cliffs  descending 
hundreds  or  even  thousands  of  feet,  to  the  level  of  another  and 
lower  plateau.  And  so,  passing  away  from  the  mountains,  one 
descends  by  a  series  of  gigantic  steps,  a  veritable  giant's  stair 
case,  from  an  elevation  of  twelve  thousand  feet  to  the  sea  level. 

These  plateaus  contain  no  valleys.  Instead  of  valleys  there 
are  canyons  and  gorges,  with  rocky,  precipitous  sides  and  narrow 
beds.  In  many  places  these  canyons  are  so  numerous  as  to  reduce 
the  plateau  to  a  mere  skeleton  of  narrow,  winding,  flat-topped 
ridges.  Most  of  the  canyons  are  dry  nearly  all  the  year,  and  in 
but  few  do  the  streams  flow  continuously.  When  the  rain  comes 
it  is  usually  in  the  form  of  spasmodic  showers.  It  falls  in  sheets, 
and  flowing  rapidly  off  the  upper  land,  fills  these  canyons  to  a 
great  depth.  For  a  few  hours,  perhaps,  they  are  rushing  tor 
rents,  and  then  the  beds  of  the  canyons  are  left  as  dry  and  hot 
as  before.  This  region  is,  on  the  whole,  an  arid  one.  The  high 
plateaus  are,  however,  green  and  fertile,  covered  with  pines, 
spruces,  and  waving  grasses,  and  bedecked  with  gayly  painted 
flowers.  But  as  one  descends  the  aspect  of  nature  changes.  The 
spruces,  aspens,  and  waving  grasses  disappear,  and  are  replaced 
by  the  pinon  pine  and  cedar;  then  by  arternisia,  which  is  suc 
ceeded  by  the  cactus,  yucca,  and  mesquite ;  while  finally,  upon 
the  lower  plateaus,  little  if  any  vegetation  exists.  The  lower 
plateaus  of  the  Colorado  are  as  completely  a  desert  as  any  part 
of  the  Sahara. 

The  Great  Basin. — West  of  the  basin  of  the  Colorado 
is  another  peculiar  region,  in  which,  owing  to  deficient  rainfall, 
no  system  of  drainage  has  yet  been  developed.  It  is  an  inland 
basin,  without  drainage  to  either  ocean.  Though  known  as  the 
Great  Basin,  it  is  in  reality  a  group  of  many  basins.  At  ordi 
nary  seasons  each  of  these  basins  is  independent  of  every  other. 
The  streams  flowing  into  them  either  sink  into  the  soil  or  evap 
orate  to  the  thirsty  atmosphere.  On  those  rare  occasions  when 
the  rain  falls  heavily,  several  of  the  basins  may  be  connected 
one  with  another  by  temporary  streams.  The  surface  of  the 
Great  Basin  is  an  alternation  of  broad  valleys,  deeply  filled 
with  sand  and  soil  washed  from  their  sides,  and  with  sharp, 


THE  NATIONAL  DOMAIN  H 

narrow,  abrupt  mountain  ranges  trending  nearly  north  and 
south.  Upon  the  east  this  basin  is  separated  from  the  Colorado 
valley  by  the  Wasatch  range,  and  upon  the  west  the  Sierra 
Nevada  separates  it  from  the  valley  of  California.  The  north 
ern  and  southern  boundaries  are  ill-defined,  consisting  in  the 
main  of  gentle  elevations  in  the  midst  of  valleys. 

Salt  Lake  Basin. — The  largest  of  the  basins  of  which  the 
Great  Basin  is  composed,  is  that  of  Great  Salt  lake,  which  col 
lects  most  of  the  streams  flowing  down  the  west  wall  of  the 
Wasatch  range,  into  this  Dead  Sea  of  America,  where  the  water 
is  evaporated  and  restored  to  the  atmosphere.  Another  of  these 
basins,  which  lies  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  col 
lects  the  waters  flowing  from  that  range  and  from  the  interior 
of  the  basin,  in  a  series  of  lakes  and  swamps,  whence  it  is  evap 
orated.  These  are  known  as  the  Carson  and  Ilumboldt  sinks. 

Sierra  Nevada. — The  Sierra  Nevada  forms  the  west  wall 
of  the  Great  Basin.  It  is  a  broad,  massive  range,  rising  steeply 
on  the  east,  and  descending  by  long  spurs  to  the  valley  of  Cali 
fornia  on  the  west.  Near  the  southern  end  it  has  its  greatest 
altitude,  nearly  fifteen  thousand  feet,  thus  exceeding  all  other 
elevations  in  the  country,  with  the  exception  of  certain  mountains 
in  Alaska.  Toward  the  north  it  diminishes  in  height,  and 
disappears  as  a  range  near  the  gorge  of  Pitt  river. 

Cascade  Itaii^e. — Northward  through  Washington  and 
Oregon,  the  line  of  elevation  is  continued  by  a  volcanic  plateau, 
upon  which  stand  numerous  extinct  volcanoes,  forming  what  is 
known  as  the  Cascade  range.  Among  these  there  are  several 
peaks  exceeding  fourteen  thousand  feei  in  height,  such  as  Shasta 
and  Rainier. 

West  of  these  ranges  lies  a  great  valley,  stretching  from 
Puget  Sound  to  southern  California.  Though  broken  in  north 
ern  California  by  mountain  spurs,  it  is  practically  a  continuous 
valley.  It  lies  for  the  most  part  not  far  above  sea  level ;  it  is 
well  watered  in  the  northern  portion,  but  in  the  southern  part  it 
becomes  arid.  Between  this  valley  and  the  Pacific  lie  a  series 
of  ranges,  the  Coast  ranges,  consisting  mostly  of  long,  parallel 
ridges,  which,  with  the  narrow  valleys  included  between  them, 
extend  to  the  Pacific  coast. 


12  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

This  mountain  region  abounds  in  strange  scenes.  The  forces 
of  nature  have  here  been  exerted  upon  a  tremendous  scale, 
building  up  mountains  and  eroding  canyons  and  gorges.  In 
some  places  great  floods  of  lava  have  been  poured  out,  and  have 
flowed  over  the  land,  producing  immense  basalt  plains  and  lava 
beds.  At  other  points  volcanic  eruptions  have  built  up  moun 
tain  peaks.  Nowhere  have  the  forces  of  erosion  been  displayed 
upon  such  a  magnificent  scale,  and  nowhere  are  their  results  so 
easily  and  clearly  read.  The  great  canyons,  cliffs,  mesas,  and 
buttes  of  the  Colorado  basin,  are  their  work.  Their  crowning 
labor  is  the  grand  series  of  canyons  of  the  Colorado,  which, 
stretching  for  a  thousand  miles,  culminates  in  the  Grand  Canyon, 
six  thousand  feet  in  depth  and  scores  of  miles  in  length. 

In  some  parts  of  this  region  the  volcanic  forces  are  still  smoul 
dering.  A  hot  spring  upon  the  summit  of  Mount  Shasta,  and 
smoke  from  other  peaks  in  the  Cascade  range,  bear  witness  that 
the  internal  fires  are  not  extinct.  But  it  is  in  Yellowstone 
Park,  the  region  where  in  times  past  the  god  of  fire  has  held 
high  carnival,  that  the  most  striking  evidences  of  his  reign  are 
still  seen.  Over  this  region  has  been  poured  a  flood  of  molten 
rock.  In  it  was  buried  the  vegetation  of  the  past,  and  in  the 
midst  of  volcanic  masses  are  now  to  be  found  trunks  of  trees 
changed  to  amethyst,  opal,  chalcedony,  and  quartz  crystals. 

In  this  region  there  are  hot  springs  and  geysers,  in  such 
abundance  and  magnitude  as  to  throw  all  others,  the  world  over, 
completely  in  the  shade.  Those  of  Iceland  and  New  Zealand 
are  petty  affairs  in  comparison.  Over  an  area  of  nearly  four 
thousand  square  miles  hot  springs  are  omnipresent.  They  are 
found  literally  by  the  thousand,  and  are  of  all  sizes,  from  a  few 
inches  across  to  areas  of  many  acres.  Where  Iceland  has  two 
or  three  active  geysers,  the  Yellowstone  Park  has  hundreds. 
The  amount  of  boiling  water  poured  out  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  is  simply  fabulous.  The  water  of  the  Firehole  river  flows 
hot  from  the  Geyser  Basins. 

Temperature.— The  United  States  lies  entirely  within 
the  temperate  zone,  and  the  mean  annual  temperature  ranges 
from  seventy -five  degrees  Fahrenheit  down  to  forty  degrees; 
the  temperature,  of  course,  diminishing  northward,  and  as 


THE   NATIONAL   DOMAIN  13 

the  altitude  above  the  sea  increases.  The  mean  temperature  of 
the  hottest  month,  July,  ranges  from  eighty-five  down  to  sixty- 
five  degrees,  and  that  of  the  coldest  month,  January,  from  sixty- 
five  degrees  down  to  near  the  zero  point. 

The  maximum  temperature  rarely  exceeds  one  "hundred  de 
grees,  while  the  minimum  is  sometimes  fifty  degrees  below 
zero.  In  the  eastern,  well-watered  part  of  the  country,  where 
the  atmosphere  is  moist,  and  upon  the  northwestern  coast  where 
similar  conditions  prevail,  the  range  of  temperature  between 
summer  and  winter  and  between  day  and  night  is  not  excessive. 

In  the  mountain  region  of  the  west,  however,  where  the  atmos 
phere  is  dry,  the  range  is  often  very  great.  It  is  in  this  region 
that  excessively  hiirh  and  excessively  low  temperatures  are  occa- 
sionallv  experienced.  At  Yuma,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Colorado 
river,  the  temperature  in  summer  often  exceeds  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  degrees,  and  when  it  falls  to  one  hundred  degrees  people 
put  on  their  flannels.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Montana,  minimum 
temperatures  of  minus  fifty-two  degrees  have  been  repeatedly 
recorded  ;  although,  on  the  whole,  the  climate  of  Montana  is 
exceptionally  mild,  considering  its  latitude  and  altitude  above 
sea,  level. 

Rainfall. — The  rainfall  of  the  United  States  differs  widclv 
in  different  parts  of  the  country.  Over  the  eastern  half  it  is 
abundant.  It  diminishes  upon  the  plains,  and  in  the  mountain 
regions  of  the  west  it  is  scanty.  Over  the  northwest  coast,  again, 
it  is  more  than  abundant.  The  rainfall  of  the  east  is  derived  in 
the  main  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  sea.  The 
south  winds  come  to  the  Gulf  coast  laden  with  moisture,  and, 
encountering  a  cool  land,  deposit  it  as  rain.  Moving;  northward, 
they  become  dryer,  and  the  rainfall  is  consequently  reduced. 

A  similar  action  takes  place  upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  the 
breadth  of  its  area  of  operations  is  less.  Thus  we  find  along  the 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts,  the  heaviest  rainfall  of  the  eastern  part 
of  the  United  States.  On  the  Gulf  coast  it  reaches,  and  some 
times  exceeds,  sixty  inches  per  annum.  Proceeding  northward, 
the  rainfall  diminishes,  and  about  the  Great  Lakes  it  is  as  low  as 
thirty  inches;  but  here  the  diminution  in  rainfall  is  partly  made 
up  by  the  diminished  evaporation,  due  to  the  colder  climate. 


14  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

Passing  westward  up  the  slope  of  the  Great  Plains,  the  rain 
fall  diminishes,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  one-hundredth 
meridian  it  commonly  amounts  to  less  than  twenty  inches.  The 
rainfall  within  the  mountain  region  as  a  rule  ranges  from  ten 
inches  upward,  being  greatest  on  the  high  mountains,  whose 
altitude  induces  precipitation  from  the  air  currents,  and  lowest 
in  the  valleys  and  on  the  plateaus.  The  most  arid  part  of  the 
country  is  the  Great  Basin,  whose  rainfall  rarely  exceeds  ten 
inches,  and  in  many  localities  falls  to  four  or  five. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  a  different  condition  of  things  prevails. 
Here  are  found  well-defined  wet  and  dry  seasons.  Their  wetness 
and  dryness  depend  upon  the  latitude,  the  rainfall  being  much 
greater  in  the  north  than  in  the  south.  The  annual  rainfall  at 
the  Strait  of  Fuca  has  been  as  great  as  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  inches,  while  at  San  Diego  it  is  often  as  low  as  five 
inches.  This  change  in  rainfall  with  the  change  of  season  and 
of  latitude,  is  due  to  the  relative  temperatures  of  the  .sea  and  the 
land.  Warm  westerly  winds  from  the  Pacific  reach  the  coast 
saturated  with  moisture.  The  temperature  of  these  air  currents 
does  not  vary  much  from  summer  to  winter ;  but  the  tempera 
ture  of  the  land  varies  greatly,  so  that  in  winter  the  currents, 
upon  reaching  the  coast,  encounter  a  relatively  cold  land,  which 
chills  them  and  induces  precipitation. 

The  contrast  between  the  temperatures  of  air  currents  and 
the  land,  increases  as  the  latitude  increases ;  consequently  the 
precipitation  increases  northward  and  diminishes  southward. 
After  passing  the  Coast  range  and  the  great  Pacific  valley,  these 
air  currents  encounter  the  peaks  of  the  Cascade  range  and  the 
Sierra  Nevada.  They  are  forced  to  great  altitudes,  are  chilled, 
and  shed  upon  these  ranges  all  the  moisture  that  is  left  in  them, 
and  in  that  desiccated  condition  they  blow  over  the  desert  to  the 
eastward  as  dry  winds.  Hence  it  is  that  the  winter  winds  are 
dry  in  the  western  mountain  regions. 

In  the  summer  all  this  is  changed.  Then  the  land,  with  the 
exception  of  the  highest  mountains,  is  relatively  warmer  than  the 
sea,  and  the  moist  air  currents  coming  from  the  sea  blow  over 
the  Coast  ranges  with  little  loss  of  moisture,  and  climb  the  Sierra 
and  Cascades,  upon  which  they  deposit  a  greater  amount ;  but 


THE  NATIONAL  DOMAIN  15 

they  still  contain  enough  in  their  eastward  progress  to  water  with 
frequent  showers  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  and  Texas.  Hence  it  is  that  the  summer  season  is  the 
rainy  season  of  these  States. 

From  the  above  brief  outline  it  is  easy  to  understand  the 
impropriety  of  speaking  of  the  climate  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  country  contains  within  itself  the  widest  possible  variations 
of  climate.  It  is  one  of  the  wettest  and  one  of  the  dryest  coun 
tries  on  the  globe,  it  is  one  of  the  hottest  and  one  of  the  coldest ; 
and  the  follv  of  the  assumption  of  European  writers,  that  the  so- 
called  American  climate  is  developing  an  American  species  of 
mankind,  is  made  apparent  when  the  facts  are  stated. 

Forests.— The  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Atlantic,  including  southern  Missouri,  Arkan 
sas,  and  eastern  Texas,  is,  on  the  whole,  a  forested  region. 
Throughout  this  part  of  the  country  timber  grows  freely.  It  is 
true  that  portions  of  Illinois  and  adjacent  States  were  prairies 
when  settlement  began;  but,  except  where  cultivated,  they  are 
fast  growing  up  to  woodland  under  the  protective  influences  of 
man. 

It  is  said,  too,  that  the  Appalachian  valley  was  also  a  prairie; 
but  it  is  now  covered  with  forests,  except  where  cultivated.  The 
western  part  of  Washington  and  Oregon,  and  the  western  part  of 
California',  arc  also  forested  regions,  and  most  of  the  mountain 
ranges  of  the  west  are  wooded  ;  but  the  valleys,  plains,  and 
plateaus  of  this  region  and  the  Great  Plains,  are  devoid  of  tree 
growth.  In  all  this  region  the  rainfall  is  not  sufficient  to  support 
trees,  if  we  except  two  or  three  scrubby  species  which  are  pecu 
liar  to  an  arid  climate. 

It  is  estimated  that  more  than  one-third  of  the  area  of  the 
United  States  is  at  present  covered  with  timber.  This  estimate 
takes  account  not  only  of  the  area  natural Iv  devoid  of  trees,  but 
also  of  the  areas  which  have  been  denuded  for  purposes  of  culti 
vation  and  other  requirements  of  civilization. 


GOVERNMENT 


THE  government  of  the  United  States  is  a  pure  democracy. 
It  is  in  the  most  complete  sense  a  government  by  the  people, 
from  the  smallest  political  subdivision,  the  township,  up  to  the 
national  government.  The  machinery  of  government  is  abso 
lutely  controlled  by  the  people  governed.  It  is  therefore  home 
rule  pure  and  simple.  Matters  concerning  the  township,  and  the 
township  only,  are  controlled  by  the  township  government ;  those 
concerning  a  group  of  townships  are  controlled  by  the  county 
government. 

Matters  which  have  a  wider  bearing  and  influence  than  the 
county  are  controlled  by  the  state  government,  and  in  turn  those 
of  national  importance  and  bearing  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
general  government.  Thus,  speaking  broadly,  the  powers  and 
functions  of  the  greater  governments  are  restricted  to  matters  of 
general  importance  and  concern,  and  as  far  as  is  consistent  with 
the  general  welfare,  the  powers  of  government  are  given  to  the 
minor  units.  Naturally  enough,  this  distribution  of  power 
among  the  different  units  of  government  differs  in  different 
States,  depending  upon  the  stage  of  settlement,  upon  the  charac 
ter  of  the  occupations  of  the  people,  and,  to  some  extent,  upon 
their  traditions  and  social  customs.  Of  the  distribution  of 
powers,  more  will  be  said  later. 

To  the  foregoing  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that,  under 
this  system  of  government,  the  individual  enjoys  the  greatest 
freedom  consistent  with  the  due  protection  of  the  rights  of  others. 
To  this  large  measure  of  individual  freedom  is  due,  in  great 
part,  the  development  of  the  strong,  and  at  the  same  time 
adaptable,  American  type  of  mankind,  which  has  already  made 
this  country  facile  princeps  in  all  the  elements  of  national  great 
ness. 


GOVERNMENT  17 

In  each  unit  of  government  three  elements  are  to  be  plainly 
recognized — the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  In  the 
national  and  state  governments,  these  are  clearly  distinguished 
by  different  sets  of  officers  and  related  organizations.  In  count\T 
and  township  governments,  the  legislative  and  executive  func 
tions  are  often  exercised  by  the  same  officers.  The  judicial 
function  is  everywhere  distinctly  differentiated  from  the  others. 


GENERAL  GOVERNMENT 

In  the  general  government  the  President  is  the  chief  executive 
officer.  Under  the  Constitution  he  must  be  a  native  of  the 
United  States,  and  must  be  at  least  thirty-five  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  his  election.  His  term  of  service  is  four  years,  and 
he  may  be  reflected  ;  but  precedent  has  decreed  that  he  shall  be 
reflected  only  once.  His  election  is  effected  by  what  the  fathers 
designed  to  be  a  very  judicious  piece  of  machinery,  but  this  has 
degenerated  into  a  mere  formality.  The  Constitution  requires 
that  the  qualified  voters  shall  choose  electors,  such  electors  being 
in  the  proportion  of  one  for  everv  senator  and  representative  in 
Congress;  that  the  electors  of  each  state  thus  chosen  shall  meet 
on  a  certain  day  within  that  state  and  vote  for  President  and 
Vice-President,  transmitting  the  result  to  Congress,  which  pub 
licly  declares  it. 

It  was  intended  that  the  electors  should  be  men  chosen  for 
the  purpose  of  sitting  as  a  deliberative  body,  and  selecting 
according  to  their  judgment  the  men  best  fitted  for  these  high 
offices.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  while  this  routine  is  carried  out  to 
the  letter,  the  selection  of  candidates  for  the  Presidencv  and 
Vice-Presidency  is  made  beforehand  by  conventions  of  the  great 
parties,  and  the  party  electors  are  pledged  in  the  strongest  pos 
sible  way  to  vote  for  the  candidates  of  their  respective  parties  and 
thus  simply  carry  out  the  dictates  of  the  party  which  elected 
them.  Wooden  men  would  answer  the  purpose  equally  well. 

A  majority,  not  a  plurality,  of  the  electors  decides  the  elec 
tion,  and  when,  as  has  happened  on  rare  occasions,  there  is  no 
choice  by  the  electors,  it  goes  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 
2 


18  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

the  members  of  which  vote,  not  individually,  but  by  states ;  so 
that  in  this  event  each  state,  whatever  the  number  of  its  delegation, 
has  the  same  weight  in  electing  the  President  as  every  other. 

Cabinet. — The  President,  upon  assuming  office,  selects  a 
number  of  advisers,  known  collectively  as  his  Cabinet.  These 
are  as  follows:  Secretary  of  State,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
Secretary  of  War,  Attorney -General,  Postmaster-General,  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy,  §ecretary  of  the  Interior,  and  Secretary  of 
Agriculture.  These  selections  are  subject  to  confirmation  by  the 
Senate.  In  case  of  the  removal,  death,  or  inability  of  both  the 
President  and  Yice-President,  these  officials  succeed  to  the  Presi 
dency  in  the  order  here  given :  first,  the  Secretary  of  State;  or,  in 
case  of  his  death,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  so  on. 

The  members  of  the  Cabinet,  besides  being  the  President's 
advisers,  are  executive  heads  of  departments  of  government,  the 
scope  of  their  departments  being  indicated  to  a  certain  extent 
by  their  designations.  Within  these  departments  the  work  of 
government  is  further  subdivided  into  bureaus,  the  heads  of 
which  are  subordinate  to  the  Cabinet  officers ;  and  these  bureaus, 
in  turn,  are  separated  into  divisions  and  sections.  The  salary  of 
the  President  is  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year  ;  that  of  the  Yice- 
President  and  of  members  of  the  Cabinet,  eight  thousand  dollars. 

Senate. — The  legislative  branch  consists  of  two  houses  of 
Congress,  known  as  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
The  former  consists  of  two  members  elected  from  each  state  for 
a  term  of  six  years,  so  arranged  that  one-third  of  the  body  goes 
out  of  office  every  two  years.  A  senator  must  be  a  resident  of  the 
state  from  which  he  is  elected,  and  must  be  at  least  thirty  years 
of  age.  The  Vice-President  is  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate. 

As  there  are  now  forty -four  states  in  the  Union,  the  number 
of  senators  is  eighty-eight,  and,  being  elected  for  terms  of  con 
siderable  length,  they  are  not  as  closely  in  touch  with  their 
constituents  as  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  They 
are  more  deliberative  and  less  likely  to  be  swayed  by  the 
impulse  of  the  moment.  The  Senate  is  therefore  regarded  as 
the  more  conservative  of  the  two  legislative  bodies.  The  com 
pensation  of  a  senator  is  five  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

House  of  Representatives. — The  House  of  Representa- 


GOVERNMENT  19 

tives  at  present  comprises  three  hundred  and  thirty-six  mem 
bers,  including  the  delegates  from  the  territories  who  are 
permitted  to  participate  in  debates  but  have  no  vote.  The 
representation  from  each  state  is  proportioned  to  the  number  of 
inhabitants.  Representatives  are  elected  for  two  years  only. 
Each  representative  must  be  a  resident  of  the  district  from  which 
he  is  elected,  and  must  be  at  least  twenty-five  years  of  age.  This 
body  chooses  its  own  presiding  officer,  who  is  known  as  the 
Speaker,  and  in  cases  of  contested  elections  decides  upon  its 
membership.  Being  the  popular  branch  of  the  government — that 
is,  the  branch  in  closest  touch  with  the  people — it  claims  and  as 
a  rule  maintains  the  right  to  originate  business,  and  especially 
to  propose  the  appropriation  of  funds  from  the  Treasury.  The 
salary  of  a  representative  is  five  thousand  dollars  a  year. 

The  work  of  Congress  is  carried  on  mainlv  bv  means  of  com 
mittees.  In  the  House  of  Representatives  there  are  in  all  fifty- 
seven  standing  committees  for  specific  purposes,  the  members  of 
which  are  chosen  by  the  Speaker.  To  these  committees  are 
referred  bills  and  measures  presented  to  the  House  which  fall 
within  their  respective  provinces.  In  committee  measures 
receive  careful  consideration,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  House  accepts 
the  committee's  report.  Under  this  method  careful  legislation  is 
possible,  while  otherwise  it  would  be  impossible.  A  similar 
committee  system  prevails  in  the  Senate;  but  there  the  com 
mittee  is  a  less  powerful  organization,  and  justlv  so,  since  the 
Senate  is  a  smaller  and  more  deliberative  body,  and  moreover 
originates  fewer  measures. 

Judiciary. — The  judiciary  of  the  general  government  con 
sists  of  three  classes  of  courts:  First,  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  which  sits  in  Washington,  and  is  composed  of  a 
chief  justice  and  eight  associate  justices,  who  are  appointed  by 
the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate  ;  their  tenure  of 
office  is  for  life,  unless  impeached.  Second,  the  United  States 
circuit  courts,  which  arc  held  at  various  places  throughout  the 
country,  and  are  presided  over  bv  individual  members  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  Third,  the  United  States  district  courts,  over 
which  preside  district  judges,  who  are  also  appointed  by  the 
President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 


20  THE  liUILVlNU   OF  A  NATION 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   POWERS 

There  has  been  a  constant  struggle  ever  since  the  organization 
of  the  government,  as  to  the  powers  vested  in  the  general 
government  and  those  retained  by  the  states.  All  the  difficul 
ties  encountered  by  the  fathers  in  attempting  to  form  the  federal 
government  arose  from  this  jealousy  of  centralization.  With 
the  exception  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  this  has  been  a 
peaceful  struggle,  but  none  the  less  it  has  been  constant  and 
intense.  However,  the  general  government  has  steadily  main 
tained  and  extended  its  control  over  questions  of  common  inter 
est  to  all  or  several  of  the  states. 

All  matters  connected  with  foreign  relations,  the  coinage  or 
printing  of  money,  the  postal  system,  the  collection  of  revenue 
whether  by  customs  or  excise  taxes,  the  taking  of  the  decen 
nial  census,  the  administration  of  the  public  lands,  the  issuance 
of  patents  and  copyrights,  the  lighting  and  protection  of  the 
coasts,  and  the  public  defense  whether  by  land  or  sea,  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  general  government.  There  are  many  other 
matters  in  which  it  shares  the  control  jointly  with  the  States. 
Through  its  Department  of  Agriculture  and  through  its  Sur 
veys,  it  aids  in  the  development  of  agricultural  and  mineral 
resources.  It  collects  and  furnishes  information  concerning  the 
progress  of  education.  It  aids  in  the  maintenance  of  the  supply 
of  food  fishes,  and  of  numerous  agencies  which  assist  in  the  col 
lection  and  dissemination  of  scientific  information. 

Executive  Divisions. — The  executive  departments  of 
the  government  are  eight  in  number :  The  Department  of 
State,  which  has  jurisdiction  over  foreign  affairs ;  the  Treasury 
Department,  which  has  charge  of  all  matters  relating  to  the 
collection  and  disbursement  of  the  revenues  of  the  government ; 
the  War  Department,  which  controls  the  army  ;  the  Department 
of  Justice,  which  prosecutes  all  government  cases  in  the  United 
States  courts,  and  acts  as  the  legal  adviser  of  the  Executive; 
the  Post  Office  Department,  which  manages  the  transportation 
and  distribution  of  the  mails;  the  Navy  Department;  the 


GOVERNMENT  21 

Department  of  the  Interior,  which  has  general  control  over 
internal  matters  of  administration,  and  which  embraces  a  great 
variety  of  bureaus ;  and,  finally,  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
which  is  primarily  concerned  in  fostering  that  great  branch  of 
industry.  Besides  these,  there  are  several  bureaus  or  institu 
tions  which  are  not  attached  to  any  of  the  regular,  departments. 

Department  of  State. —  This  department,  which  is  re 
garded  as  first  in  rank,  lias  jurisdiction  over  all  matters  con 
nected  with  our  foreign  relations,  including  treaties  in  extradition 
of  fugitives  from  justice  and  the  granting  of  passports.  It  has 
control  of  the  ministers  to  foreign  countries  and  consuls  in  for 
eign  ports,  and  is  the  custodian  of  the  Great  Seal  of  the  United 
States.  It  also  publishes  the  laws  and  resolutions  of  Congress, 
amendments  to  the  Constitution,  executive  orders  and  proclama 
tions.  The  bureaus  of  this  department  are  six  in  number; 
namely,  the  Bureau  of  Indexes  and  Archives,  the  Diplomatic 
Bureau,  Consular  Bureau,  Bureau  of  Accounts,  Bureau  of  Kolls 
and  Library,  and  Bureau  of  Statistics.  The  duties  of  these  sev 
eral  bureaus  are  indicated  by  their  names. 

Treasury  Department.— This  is  a  large  department,  com 
prising  many  bureaus  and  employing  an  army  of  clerks.  The 
collection  of  the  revenues  is  done  under  two  bureaus,  those  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Customs  and  of  Internal  Revenue.  The  dis 
bursement  of  public  funds  is  supervised  by  two  comptrollers,  who 
pass  upon  legal  points  connected  therewith,  and  by  six  auditors, 
who  examine  the  correctness  and  validity  of  accounts.  The  Treas 
urer  has  charge  of  the  funds  or  deposits  in  the  Treasury.  The 
Register  of  the  Treasury  is  the  book-keeper  of  the  United  States. 
The  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  has  control  over  the  national 
banks.  The  Mint  Bureau  supplies  the  coinage,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Engraving  and  Printing  supplies  the  issues  of  paper  money. 
Besides  all  these,  which  may  be  classified  as  executive  bureaus, 
there  are  others,  attached  to  the  Treasury  Department,  of  a  scien 
tific  or  semi-scientific  nature.  The  construction  of  public  build 
ings  throughout  the  United  States  is  also  controlled  by  one  of 
its  bureaus,  presided  over  by  the  supervising  architect. 

The  Treasury  Department  maintains  a  Bureau  of  Statistics, 
for  the  collection  and  publication  of  statistics  of  foreign  trade 


22  THE  BUILD  IN  O   OF  A   NATION 

and  immigration.  It  also  maintains  a  Life-Saving  Service,  the 
best  in  the  world;  by  this  service  much  of  our  coast,  including 
the  most  important  portions,  is  patrolled  day  and  night  by  par 
ties  fully  equipped  with  the  most  modern  appliances  for  saving 
life  and  property  from  shipwreck.  It  includes  the  Light  House 
establishment,  by  which  the  entire  coast  and  most  of  the  naviga 
ble  rivers  are  lighted.  It  also  controls  the  Coast  and  Geo 
detic  Survey,  to  which  is  intrusted  the  survey  of  the  coast  and 
the  geodetic  triangulation  of  the  interior  of  the  country. 

War  Department. — A  partial  enumeration  of  the  bureaus 
of  which  the  departments  are  composed,  with  a  slight  account 
of  the  work  carried  on  by  each,  will  illustrate  the  scope  and 
great  variety  of  the  functions  of  the  general  government.  The 
War  Department  is  divided  into  twelve  bureaus,  or  sub-depart 
ments,  whose  names  in  most  cases  describe  their  functions.  They 
are:  Army  Headquarters,  Adjutant  General's  office,  Inspector- 
General's  office,  Judge- Advocate-General's  office,  Bureau  of  Sub 
sistence,  Quartermasters',  Ordnance,  Medical,  and  Pay  Depart 
ments,  Engineers'  Department,  Department  of  Public  Buildings 
and  Grounds,  and  Office  of  Publication  of  War  Records. 

Department  of  Justice. — This  is  a  small  department, 
whose  functions,  as  stated  above,  are  to  advise  the  President 
and  the  heads  of  other  departments  upon  legal  points,  and 
through  assistant  attorneys-general  and  United  States  district 
attorneys,  to  prosecute  cases  in  the  United  States  courts  on 
behalf  of  the  general  government. 

Post  Office  Department. — The  work  of  the  Post  Office 
Department  is  entirely  of  an  executive  character,  arid  a  state 
ment  of  its  operations  is  presented  in  a  later  portion  of  this 
work. 

Navy  Department. — The  Navy  Department  embraces  a 
large  number  of  bureaus  and  offices,  among  which  are  the  follow 
ing:  Bureau  of  Ordnance,  of  Equipment,  of  Navigation,  of 
Yards  and  Docks,  of  Provisions  and  Clothing,  of  Steam  Engi 
neering,  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  of  Construction,  of  Inspection 
and  Survey,  and  of  Naval  Intelligence.  It  contains  a  Hydro- 
graphic  office,  whose  function  is  to  supply  charts  to  the  navy, 
and  for  that  purpose  it  not  only  engraves  and  prints  charts  of 


GOVERNMENT  23 

the  coasts  of  foreign  lands,  but  makes  surveys  with  the  same  end 
in  view.  It  contains  also  the  Naval  Observatory,  one  of  the  best 
equipped  in  the  world,  and  the  Nautical  Almanac  office,  which 
prepares  the  American  Nautical  Almanac,  for  the  use  of  the 
merchant  marine  as  well  as  the  navy. 

Department  of  the  Interior. — The  Department  of  the 
Interior  was  not  created,  but  has  grown.  To  it  have  been  attached 
bureaus  which  did  not  fit  elsewhere,  and  consequently  it  contains 
a  great  variety  of  them.  It  has  control  of  the  survey  and  dis 
position  of  the  public  lands,  of  the  issuance  of  patents,  of  the 
granting  of  pensions,  and  of  the  relations  of  the  government 
with  the  Indians,  a  bureau  being  assigned  to  each  of  these  mat 
ters.  The  Bureau  of  Education  collects  and  publishes  statistics 
of  education  throughout  the  country.  The  Geological  Survey 
studies  and  reports  upon  the  geology  and  mineral  wealth  of  the 
national  domain,  and,  incidentally,  is  preparing  a  topographic 
maj)  thereof;  indeed,  this  great  work,  although  an  incidental, 
lias  for  ten  years  been  the  principal  work  of  the  Geological 
Survey  office.  Finally,  the  Interior  Department  contains  the 
Census  office,  a  temporary  bureau,  constituted  every  ten  years 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  account  of  stock. 

Department  of  Agriculture. — It  is  the  function  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  aid  and  foster  tlie  agricul 
tural  industry.  To  this  end  it  collects  and  disseminates  statistics 
of  crops.  It  searches  for  the  means  of  protecting  crops  from 
disease  and  insect  enemies.  It  tests  the  fitness  of  soils  and 
climates  for  new  products,  it  studies  the  forest  resources,  and 
thus  in  many  ways  it  advances  the  interests  of  the  farmer.  To 
this  Department  is  attached  the  Weather  Bureau,  whose  prin 
cipal  function  is  to  predict  the  weather. 

Other  Departments  and  Bureaus. — The  Fish  Com 
mission,  an  independent  bureau,  exists  for  the  purpose,  prima 
rily,  of  increasing  the  supply  of  food  fishes.  Incidentally  it  has 
contributed  greatly  to  our  knowledge  of  the  life  and  habits  of 
the  denizens  of  the  briny  deep  and  of  our  lakes  and  rivers. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is  likewise  unattached. 
It  has  jurisdiction  over  the  railways  of  the  country,  under  the 
laws  regulating  interstate  commerce. 


24  THE  BUILDING  OF  A    NATION 

The  Department  or  Bureau  of  Labor  is  an  office  for  the  col 
lection  and  dissemination  of  statistics  relating  to  labor,  its  com 
pensation,  hours,  relation  to  capital,  etc. 

Most  of  the  civil  employes  of  the  United  States  are  under  the 
protection  of  a  civil  service  law,  whose  chief  provision  is  that 
appointments  to  the  service  can  be  made  only  as  a  result  of 
competitive  examination,  free  to  all,  with  some  slight  restric 
tions  as  to  residence,  etc.  There  is  a  commission,  known  as  the 
Civil  Service  Commission,  for  conducting  such  examinations. 

Smithsonian  Institution. — There  is  under  the  control 
of  the  government  one  institution  of  a  peculiar  character. 
Many  years  ago,  Mr.  James  Smithson  bequeathed  a  large  sum 
of  money  to  the  United  States  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge.  Partly  with  the  income  from  this  bequest,  and 
partly  by  appropriation  from  the  United  States  Treasury,  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  has  been  founded  and  maintained,  and 
to  it  have  been  added  the  National  Museum,  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  and  the  National  Zoological  Park. 

The  work  of  this  institution  has  been  mainly  in  pure  science. 
Its  uniform  policy  has  been  to  aid  original  investigation,  and, 
whenever  practicable,  to  assist  it  to  aid  itself.  Thus  it  supported 
the  first  tottering  steps  of  the  science  of  meteorology,  and  at 
last  saw  it  recognized  by  the  government  in  the  form  of  the 
Weather  Bureau.  Similarly  with  fish  culture,  now  supported 
in  the  Fish  Commission.  It  deserves  no  small  share  of  the 
credit  of  establishing  the  Geological  Survey,  the  National 
Museum,  and  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


OKGANIZATION   OF   STATES 

The  Union,  which  originally  consisted  of  thirteen  states,  is 
now  composed  of  forty-four  states,  five  territories,  and  the  fed 
eral  District  of  Columbia.  The  political  organization  of  each 
state  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  general  government,  the 
chief  executive  officer  being  the  governor.  The  legislative  func 
tions  are  carried  on  by  a  legislature,  which  consists  in  each  case 
of  two  houses.  Each  state  has  a  judiciary  of  its  own,  for  the 


GOVERNMENT  25 

purpose  of  interpreting  and  enforcing  state  laws.  The  govern 
ment  of  the  territories  rests  in  part  with  the  people  of  the  ter 
ritories,  and  in  part  with  the  general  government.  The  Presi 
dent  appoints  the  territorial  governors,  while  the  people  elect 
their  legislatures. 

District  of  Columbia. — The  District  of  Columbia,  the 
seat  of  the  national  government,  is  the  only  portion  of  this 
great  domain  which  is  not  in  any  respect  under  home  rule. 
Strange  to  say,  this,  the  capital  of  the  greatest  and  freest 
Republic,  is  in  its  form  of  government  an  absolute  mon 
archy.  Its  executive  consists  of  three  commissioners,  who 
are  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Its 
laws  are  enacted  by  Congress,  and  its  judiciary  is  appointed 
by  the  President.  Therefore  the  people  of  the  District  have 
no  voice  in  the  management  of  their  public  affairs,  beyond 
the  privilege  of  protest  and  petition.  As  originally  consti 
tuted,  the  District  of  Columbia  comprised  an  area  ten  miles 
square.  The  Virginia  portion  was  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
July  16,  1790,  and  the  Maryland  portion,  March  30,  1791. 
Subsequently,  July  9,  1846,  the  Virginia  portion  was  re-ceded 
to  that  state. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  states  and  territories,  with  a 
brief  account  of  their  organization  : 

Alabama. — Alabama  territory  was  created  from  a  part  of 
Mississippi  territory,  March  3,  1817.  Its  limits  were  those 
of  the  present  state,  excepting  that  the  thirty -first  parallel  was 
its  southern  boundary.  It  was  admitted  as  a  state,  December 
H,  1819. 

Alaska. — Alaska  was  obtained  by  purchase  from  the  Russian 
government  in  1867,  for  the  sum  of  §7,200,000  in  gold.  It  was 
given  a  territorial  government,  July  27,  1868. 

Arizona. — This  territory  was  formed  in  part  from  the  first 
Mexican  purchase,  and  m  part  from  the  Gadsden  purchase,  by 
act  of  Congress,  February  24,  1863. 

Arkansas.  -Arkansas  territory  was  created  by  act  of 
March  2,  .1819,  from  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  then 
known  as  Missouri  territory.  It  was  admitted  as  a  state  with 
its  present  boundaries.  June  15,  1836. 


26  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

California. — This  state  was  admitted  September  9,  1850, 
its  area  being  taken  from  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico 
by  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo. 

Colorado. — Colorado  territory  was  created  February  28, 
1861,  its  area  being  taken  partly  from  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
partly  from  the  territory  acquired  from  Mexico,  and  partly 
from  the  area  purchased  from  Texas.  It  was  admitted  as  a 
state,  August  1,  1876. 

Connecticut. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
ratified  the  Constitution,  January  9,  1788. 

Delaware.— One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It  was 
the  first  to  ratify  the  Constitution,  having  taken  this  step  Janu 
ary  7,  1787. 

Florida. — Florida  territory  was  created  March  30,  1822, 
from  the  area  purchased  from  Spain  three  years  previously.  It 
was  admitted  as  a  state,  March  3,  1845. 

Georgia. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It  adopted 
the  Constitution,  January  2,  1788. 

Idaho. — Idaho  territory  was  formed  March  3,  1863,  from 
Oregon,  which  was  acquired  by  prior  settlement.  It  was  ad 
mitted  as  a  state,  July  3,  1890. 

Illinois. — The  territory  of  Illinois  was  formed  by  act  of 
February  3,  1809,  from  a  part  of  the  territory  northwest  of 
the  Ohio  river.  It  was  admitted  as  a  state,  with  its  boundaries 
greatly  reduced,  December  3,  1818. 

Indiana. — Indiana  territory  was  created  May  7,  1800,  from 
a  part  of  Northwest  territory.  Its  boundaries  then  enclosed  a 
much  greater  area  than  those  of  the  present  state.  December 
11,  1816,  it  was  admitted  as  a  state,  with  its  present  bounda 
ries. 

Indian  Territory. — This  is  not  in  the  proper  sense  a  ter 
ritory  of  the  United  States,  but  rather  a  group  of  Indian  reser 
vations,  established  from  time  to  time  as  occasion  has  arisen. 
The  area  included  in  the  present  territory  is  a  part  of  the  original 
Louisiana  purchase. 

Iowa. — Iowa  territory  was  created  July  3,  1838,  when  it 
included  a  much  greater  area  than  at  present.  Its  area  was 
embraced  in  the  Louisiana  purchase.  March  3,  1845,  it  was 


G  0  VERNMENT  2  7 

admitted  as  a  state,  and  December  28,  1846,  its  northern  and 
western  boundaries  were  changed,  giving  to  the  state  its  present 
limits. 

Kansas. — The  territory  of  Kansas  was  created  May  30, 
1854,  its  area  being  taken  from  that  of  the  Louisiana  purchase. 
January  29,  1861,  it  was  admitted  as  a  state,  with  its  present 
limits. 

Kentucky. — Kentucky  was  admitted  June  1,  1792,  with  its 
present  limits,  having  been  taken  from  the  western  portion  of 
Virginia. 

Louisiana. — The  territory  of  Orleans  was  created  March  3, 
1805,  and  comprised  nearly  the  same  area  as  the  present  state 
of  Louisiana.  April  30,  1812,  this  territory  was  admitted  as 
a  state,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  and  in  the  same  year 
its  limits  were  extended  to  include  the  present  area. 

Maine. — The  area  of  the  state  of  Maine  was  originally  a 
part  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  known  as  the  District  of  Maine. 
It  was  detached  from  Massachusetts  and  admitted  as  a  state, 
March  15,  1820. 

Maryland. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It  adopted 
the  Constitution,  April  28,  178S. 

Massachusetts. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
adopted  the  Constitution,  February  6,  178s. 

3Iichigaii. — The  territory  of  Michigan  was  formed  June  30, 
1805,  its  area  being  taken  from  what  was  originally  the  North 
west  territory.  It  was  admitted  as  a  state,  January  26,  1837, 
with  its  boundaries  considerably  changed  from  those  of  the 
territory. 

Minnesota. — The  territory  of  Minnesota  was  created  March 
3,  1849.  Its  area  was  derived  in  part  from  the  old  Northwest 
territory,  and  in  part  from  the  Louisiana  purchase.  It  was 
admitted  as  a  state,  May  11,  1858,  with  its  limits  greatly  re 
duced. 

Mississippi. — The  original  territory  of  Mississippi,  organ 
ized  April  7,  1798,  was  very  different  from  the  present  state, 
and  comprised  an  area  in  the  southern  part  of  the  present 
states  of  Alabama  and  Mississippi.  In  1804  this  territory  was 
enlarged  to  include  almost  the  entire  area  of  these  two  states. 


28  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

It  was  subsequently  diminished  by  the  formation  of  the  territory 
of  Alabama,  and  December  10,  1817,  it  was  admitted  as  a  state 
with  its  present  boundaries. 

Missouri. — The  original  Missouri  territory,  as  constituted  by 
act  of  April  30,  1812,  included  all  the  Louisiana  purchase,  with 
the  exception  of  the  present  state  of  Louisiana.  One  after 
another,  states  were  carved  from  it,  and  August  10,  1821,  the 
state  of  Missouri  was  admitted,  with  its  boundaries  the  same  as 
at  present,  excepting  the  western  boundary,  which  was  extended 
westward  in  1836. 

Montana. — Montana  territory  was  created  May  26,  1864, 
its  area  being  originally  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase.  It 
was  admitted  as  a  state,  November  8,  1889. 

Nebraska. — The  territory  of  Nebraska  was  organized  under 
the  act  of  May  30,  1854,  and  originally  comprised  a  large  pro 
portion  of  what  was  the  Louisiana  purchase.  It  was  reduced 
by  the  formation  of  several  states  and  territories,  and  March  1, 
1867,  was  admitted  as  a  state. 

Nevada. — Nevada  territory  was  created  by  act  of  March  2, 
1861,  from  a  part  of  the  territory  first  acquired  from  Mexico. 
Its  original  area  was  much  less  than  at  present.  It  was  admitted 
as  a  state,  October  31,  1864,  with  its  eastern  limits  enlarged,  and 
subsequently,  in  1866,  it  was  still  further  enlarged  so  as  to  in 
clude  the  present  area. 

New  Hampshire. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States. 
It  ratified  the  Constitution,  June  21,  1788. 

New  Jersey. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
ratified  the  Constitution,  December  18,  1787. 

New  Mexico. — The  territory  of  New  Mexico  was  created 
by  act  of  December  13,  1850.  Originally  it  included  its  pres 
ent  area,  with  the  exception  of  that  part  of  the  Gadsden  purchase 
which  it  now  embraces.  This  was  added  by  Congress,  Decem 
ber  30,  1853. 

New  York.  —One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It  adopt 
ed  the  Constitution,  July  26,  1788. 

North  Carolina. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
adopted  the  Constitution,  November  21,  1789. 

North  Dakota. — The  territory  of  Dakota  was  created  by 


GO  VERNMENT  29 

act  of  March  2,  1861,  from  a  part  of  the  original  Louisiana 
purchase.  From  it  several  states  have  been  formed,  and  the 
remainder  was  cut  in  two  parts  and  these  parts  admitted  as  states. 
November  2,  1889,  under  the  names  North  and  South  Dakota. 

Ohio. — Ohio  was  formed  and  admitted  as  a  state,  November 
29,  1802,  its  area  being  taken  from  Northwest  territory.  In  1836 
the  northern  boundary  was  slightly  changed,  a  narrow  strip  of 
land  being  added. 

Oklahoma. — The  territory  of  Oklahoma,  originally  a  part 
of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  was  formed  May  2,  1890. 

Oregon. — The  territory  of  Oregon  was  created  by  act  of 
August  14,  1848,  and  originally  included  the  present  areas  of 
Oregon,  Washington,  and  Idaho,  which  were  acquired  by  prior 
settlement,  immediately  after  the  purchase  of  Louisiana.  It  was 
admitted  as  a  state,  with  its  present  boundaries,  February  14, 
1859. 

Pennsylvania. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
adopted  the  Constitution,  December  12,  1787. 

Rhode  Island. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
was  the  last  to  adopt  the  Constitution,  the  act  bearing  date  May 
29,  1790. 

South  Carolina. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It 
adopted  the  Constitution,  May  23,  1788. 

South  Dakota. — (See  North  Dakota.) 

Tennessee. — Tennessee  was  admitted  as  a  state,  with  its 
present  boundaries,  June  1,  1796.  Its  area  was  taken  from  the 
territory  south  of  the  Ohio  river. 

Texas. — This  state,  which  in  1836  achieved  its  independence 
of  Mexico,  was  admitted  December  29,  1845.  It  then  included 
a  large  territory  subsequently  sold  to  the  United  States,  which 
now  forms  portions  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Kansas. 

Utah. — Utah  territory  was  created  by  act  of  September  9, 
1850,  and  originally  embraced,  besides  its  own  area,  that  of 
Nevada. 

Vermont. — This  was  the  first  state  admitted  to  the  Union 
after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  The  act  of  Congress 
bears  date  March  4,  1791.  Its  area  was  in  dispute  between 
New  York,  New  Hampshire,  and  Massachusetts. 


30 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


Virginia. — One  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States.  It  adopted 
the  Constitution,  June  25,  1788. 

Washington. — The  territory  of  Washington  was  created 
by  act  of  March  2,  1853,  from  a  part  of  Oregon  territory.  It 
originally  included,  besides  its  own  area,  that  of  Idaho.  It  was 
admitted  as  a  state,  with  its  present  boundaries,  November  11, 
1889. 

West  Virginia. — The  state  of  West  Virginia  was  set  off 
from  Virginia  and  admitted,  June  19,  1863. 

Wisconsin. — The  territory  of  Wisconsin  was  formed  by 
act  of  June  3,  1836,  from  a  part  of  the  Northwest  territory. 
It  was  admitted  as  a  state,  May  29, 1848,  with  its  present  bound 
aries. 

Wyoming. — Wyoming  territory  was  created,  July  25,  1868, 
with  its  present  area.  It  was  admitted  as  a  state,  July  10, 
1890. 

The  following  table  presents  the 

AREAS  OF   THE  STATES  AND   TERRITORIES  IN  SQUARE  MILES 


STATES  AND 
TERRITORIES 

Gross 
area 

Water 
surface 

Land 
surface 

STATES  AND 
TERRITORIES 

Gross 
area 

Water 
surface 

Land 
Hiirface 

Total  

3,025,600 

55,600 

2,970,000 

Nevada  

110,700 
9,305 
7,815 
122,580 
49,170 
52,250 
70.795 
41,060 
39,030 
5)6.030 
45,215 
1,250 
30,570 
77,650 
42,050 
265,780 
84,970 
9,565 
42,450 
69,180 
24,780 
50,040 
97,890 

620 
100 

980 

300 
3(50 
120 
1,550 
3,670 
600 
300 
200 
1,470 
230 
165 
400 
800 
300 
3,490 
2,780 
430 
2,325 
2.300 
135 
1,590 
315 

(520 
100 

109,740 
9,005 
7,455 
122,460 
47,620 
48,580 
70,195 
40,760 
38,830 
94,560 
44.985 
1,085 
30,170 
76.850 
41,750 
2(52,290 
82.190 
9,135 
40,125 
66,880 
24,645 
54,450 
97,575 

Alabama     

52,250 
113,020 
53,850 
158,300 
103,925 
4,990 
2,050 
70 
58,680 
59,475 
84,800 
56,650 
36,350 
31,400 
56,025 
82.080 
40,400 
48,720 
33,040 
12,210 
8,315 
58,915 
88,JJH5 
46,810 
69,415 
146,080 
77,510 

710 
100 
805 
2,380 
280 
145 
90 
10 
4,440 
495 
510 
650 
440 
400 
550 
380 
400 
3,300 
3,145 
2,350 
275 
1,485 
4,1(K) 
470 
680 
770 
670 

51,540 
112,920 
58,045 
155,980 
103,645 
4,845 
1,960 
60 
54,240 
58,980 
84,290 
5(5,000 

a5,wo 

31,000 
55,475 
81,700 
40.000 
45,420 
29,895 
9,860 
8,040 
57,430 
79,205 
46,340 
68,735 
145,310 
76,840 

New  Hampshire  
New  Jersey 

Arizona  

New  Mexico  
New  York  

Arkansas  
California  

North  Carolina  
North  Dakota  . 
Ohio 

Colorado  
(  'onnecticut  

Delaware  
District  of  Columbia 
Florida  

Oklahoma*  
Oregon 

Pennsylvania  
Rhode  Island  
South  Carolina  
South  Dakota  
Tennessee 

Georgia  
Idaho 

Illinois  .   . 
Indiana  
Indian  Territory..   . 
Iowa  

Texas  

Utah  
Vermont  
Virginia 

Kansas  
Kentucky  
Louisiana  
Maine  
Maryland  
Massachusetts.  .  .  . 
Mi.-hiiran  
Minnesota  

Washington  

West  Virginia  
Wisconsin  
Wyoming  

Delaware  Bay  .... 
liar  i  tun    Bay    and 
Lower  New  York 
Bay  

Mississippi  .  . 
Missouri  
Montana  
Nebraska  

*  Including  Cherokee  Outlet  and  No  Man's  Land. 


GOVERNMENT 


SUBDIVISIONS  OF  STATES  AND   COUNTIES 

Each,  state  and  territory  is  divided  for  governmental  pur 
poses  into  counties,  and  these  counties  are  further  subdivided. 
The  distribution  of  political  power  between  the  counties  and 
their  subdivisions,  differs  widely  in  different  states;  indeed, 
three  distinct  systems  are  apparent  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.  In  the  New  England  states  the  county  government 
has  very  few  functions,  indeed  scarcely  any  beyond  judicial 
ones,  while  its  subdivision,  the  town  or  city,  has  jurisdiction  of 
all  local  concerns,  and  is  by  far  the  most  powerful  political  unit. 

In  the  southern  states,  and  in  the  sparsely  settled  states  and 
territories  of  the  west,  the  countv  has  jurisdiction  over  practi 
cally  all  local  matters,  and  the  subdivisions  of  the  county, 
which  are  known  variously  in  different  states  as  civil  districts, 
magisterial  districts,  beats,  hundreds,  militia  districts,  wards, 
etc.,  have  merely  minor  judicial  powers,  and  serve  as  election 
districts  and  for  other  minor  uses. 

In  the  northern  states  outside  of  New  England,  beginning 
with  New  York,  Xew  Jersev,  and  Pennsylvania  and  extending 
westward  to  the  frontier  of  settlement,  a  compromise  system 
prevails,  wherein  the  powers  are  quite  equally  divided  between 
the  two  organizations,  the  county  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
township,  as  it  is  called,  on  the  other.  This  system  seems,  on 
the  whole,  to  be  the  most  acceptable,  inasmuch  as  the  new 
states,  as  soon  as  they  reach  a  sufficient  population  to  warrant, 
have  adopted  it  one  after  another,  while  the  southern  states 
are  constantly  tending  toward  it. 

Various  classes  of  municipalities  are  incorporated  or  char 
tered,  the  name  carried  in  the  charter,  and  the  delegated  powers, 
differing  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  In  certain  states  all 
incorporated  bodies  are  known  as  cities  of  one  grade  or  another  ; 
in  others,  cities,  towns,  and  villages  are  chartered  ;  in  yet  others, 
boroughs,  etc.  The  following  table  shows  the  numberof  civil 
divisions  of  the  United  States  in  1890,  the  nearest  date  to  which 
reference  can  be  made: 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


CIVIL  DIVISIONS  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES  IN   1890 

States     44 

Territories  5 

Federal  district  1 

Counties,  including  parishes  of  Louisiana  2,772 

Towns  and  townships 20,371 

Other  subdivisions  of  the  county  12,000 

Cities 1,623 

Chartered  towns,  villages,  boroughs,  etc 8,000 


According  to  this  table  there  is  a  total  of  about  44,800  gov 
ernments  of  various  kinds  existing  under  and  tributary  to  the 
federal  government.  All  these  work  in  harmony  one  with 
another.  Rarely  does  any  conflict  of  jurisdiction  arise,  and  in 
all  such  cases  decisions  are  easily  reached  through  the  judiciary 
and  readily  accepted. 


GOVERNMENT   DEBTS 


1890 


$27,524,976,915 


1880 


1870 


1860 


$10,399,341,688 


1848 


$7,627,692,215 


NATIONAL  DEBT  OF  THE  WORLD,  1848  TO  1890 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    1 


NET   PUBLIC   DEBT,  BY  CLASSES   OF 
ORGANIZATIONS,    IN   1890 


NET  NATIONAL  DEBT,  BY  RATES  OF 
INTEREST,  IN  1890 


GOVERNMENT 


33 


The  following  table,  and  the  upper  diagram  on  Plate  1, 
facing  page  32,  show  the  national  debt  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  debts  of  states,  of  counties,  and  of  the  subdivisions  of 
counties,  including  municipalities  and  school  districts,  in  1890. 
In  the  table  these  amounts  are  compared  with  the  correspond 
ing  figures  for  1880 : 

GOVERNMENT   DEBTS   IN  1880  AND   1890 


CHARACTER  OF 
DEBT 

DEBT  LESS  SINKING  FTND 

PER  CAPITA 

1890 

1880 

1890 

1880 

National 

$891,060,104 
228,997,389 
145,048,045 
724,463,060 
36.701,948 

$1,922,517,364 
297,244,095 
124.105,027 
684,348,843 
17,580,682 

$14.24 
3.66 
2.32 
11.57 
0.59 

$38.33 
5.93 
2.47 
13.64 
0.35 

State 

County  .         

Municipal  
School  district 

National  Debt.— December  31,  1892,  the  national  debt,  less 
the  cash  in  the  Treasury,  was  $835,000,000,  having  been  reduced 
in  the  last  two  and  one-half  years  to  the  extent  of  $56,000,000, 
as  appears  from  a  comparison  with  the  above  table.  This 
debt  when  analyzed  is  found  to  consist  (a)  of  $585,0<>0,000  rep 
resented  by  interest-bearing  bonds,  of  which  all  but  $25,000,000 
are  at  four  per  cent ,  and  (1>)  non-interest-bearing  debts  amount 
ing  to  $250,000,000,  as  shown  in  the  lower  diagram  on  Plate  1, 
facing  page  82.  This  non-interest-bearing  debt  is  composed 
almost  entirely  of  legal  tender  notes,  the  gold  and  silver  certifi 
cates  so  common  in  circulation  being  issued  upon  an  equivalent 
amount  of  coin  or  bullion  on  deposit  in  the  Treasury,  and  it  is 
therefore  offset  by  the  item.  ''Cash  in  the  Treasury." 

The  national  debt  of  this  country,  prior  to  the  civil  war,  was 
never  of  great  magnitude.  From  the  beginning  of  our  history 
down  to  1825  it  oscillated  from  $45,000,000  to  $127,000,000, 
with  an  average  of  about  $75,000,000.  Then  it  was  reduced 
in  1835-36,  and  we  were  in  the  rare  position  among  nations  of 
having  no  debt ;  but  subsequently  our  obligations  were  increased 
greatly,  and  in  1851  they  reached  $68,000,000,  diminishing 
again  until  1857,  when  they  were  less  than  $29,000,000.  At 


3 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


I860— 

•— i 

— i 

I833BM 


THE    NATIONAL    DEBT 

LESS  CASH    IN    THE  TREASURY 

The  figures  at  the  top  of  the 

scale  represent  hundreds 

of  millions  of  dollars 


0                     6 

Te  set 

857k_ 
8SSU 

— 

86lU» 

—maam* 

1 

^— 

I                  f 

•OHB 

i          4 

*             91 

y         51 

I               4 

2               4 

8                6 

4                 C 

0                6 

e             7 

I 

870 
871 
872 
873 
874 
875 
876 
877 
878 
878 

881 
882 
883 
884 
885 
886 
887 
888 
889 

THE   NATIONAL   DEBT    PER   CAPITA 
LESS    CASH    IN    TREASURY 

The  figures  at  the  top  of  the 

scale  represent  dollars 


THE    NATIONAL    DEBT     1856  TO   1891 


GOVERNMENT 


35 


18561 

18571 

18581 

IBS9I 

I860! 

1861  I 

1862) 

18631 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870^ 

187!  | 

18721 

18731 

I874| 

18751 

18761 

18771 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

18841 

1885 

1886 

1887 

I88E 


isl 

I890N 
1891 


ANNUAL    INTEREST    CHARGE 
The  figures   at   the  top   of   the 
scale   represent   mil 
lions  of  dollars 


ANNUAL    INTEREST    CHARGE    PER    CAPITA 

The  figures   at  the  top   of  the 
scale   rapresent  dollars 


THE    NATIONAL    DEBT,    1856    TO    1891 


36  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

the  opening  of  the  war  in  1861  the  national  debt  was  $90,000,- 
000.  From  that  date  to  1866  the  debt  increased  by  enormous 
strides,  and  in  the  latter  year  it  reached  the  overwhelming  amount 
of  $2,773,000,000,  an  average  of  $80  per  capita  of  the  population. 
Upon  this  there  was  due  each  year  the  sum  of  $143,000,000 
in  interest,  or  more  than  $4  per  annum  to  each  inhabitant. 

With  the  close  of  the  war  the  nation  set  itself  to  paying  off 
this  enormous  burden,  and,  aided  by  wise  management  of  its 
finances  and  unexampled  prosperity,  it  has  done  this  at  a  rate 
which  the  world  had  never  before  witnessed.  In  twenty-seven 
years  it  has  reduced  the  debt  by  the  sum  of  $1,938.000,000,  or 
at  the  average  rate  per  annum  of  over  $72,000,000.  It  is  now 
less  than  one-third  what  it  was  in  1866,  and  with  the  increase  of 
population  during  the  last  part  of  the  century,  the  burden  upon 
each  inhabitant  has  been  reduced  to  $13. 

The  interest  has  been  reduced  in  a  still  greater  proportion,  as 
the  credit  of  the  government  has  risen  with  each  additional  pay 
ment  of  principal,  until  now  the  total  annual  interest  is  less 
than  $25,000,000,  an  average  of  less  than  forty  cents  to  each 
inhabitant,  or  one-tenth  of  what  it  was  in  1866.  To-day  the  credit 
of  the  United  States  is  the  highest  of  all  nations.  Its  four  per 
cent,  bonds,  due  in  1907,  are  selling  at  twenty-five  per  cent,  above 
par ;  while  the  three  per  cents.,  which  were  issued  a  few  years 
ago  and  have  since  been  taken  up,  were  sought  for  at  par  with 
the  greatest  avidity,  and  quoted  in  financial  markets  at  a  consid 
erable  premium. 

State  Debts. — The  debts  of  states  aggregated,  in  1890, 
$228,997,389,  showing  a  reduction  of  twenty-three  per  cent,  dur 
ing  the  ten  years  preceding.  The  indebtedness  of  states,  indi 
vidually,  is  set  forth  in  the  map  on  Plate  2,  and  in  the  diagrams 
on  pages  38  and  39.  They  show  the  widest  possible  diversity 
among  the  states  in  this  regard. 

In  the  northern  states  there  is  apparently  some  thought  of 
proportion  between  the  amount  of  debt  and  the  population  and 
wealth,  but  in  the  southern  states  no  such  relation  exists. 
This  may  be  due  to  the  origin  of  the  debts  of  the  southern 
states,  and  their  mode  of  treating  them.  In  many  cases  these 
debts  were  created  by  what  were  popularly  known  as  "  carpet 


GOVERNMENT  37 

bag "  governments,  which,  had  possession  of  the  states  for  a 
period  following  the  civil  war,  and  sadly  abused  the  respon 
sibilities  they  had  assumed,  creating  debt  in  the  most  reckless 
manner.  In  some  cases  these  debts  were  repudiated  by  succeed 
ing  administrations,  while  in  others  they  have  been  assumed  by 
them  and  efforts  are  being  made  for  their  reduction. 

The  diagram  on  page  38  shows  that  of  all  the  states  Virginia 
has  by  far  the  heaviest  debt,  while  she  is  followed  bv  six  other 
southern  states.  The  states  least  burdened  with  debt  are  mainly 
the  newer  ones  of  the  far  west. 

In  most  cases  the  debts  of  individual  states  have  been  reduced 
during  the  last  decade,  and  in  some  instances  this  reduction  has 
been  enormous,  when  the  size  of  the  communities  involved  is 
taken  into  account.  Thus  Massachusetts  has  reduced  her  debt 
from  $20,000,000  to  $7,000,000 ;  Pennsylvania,  from  nearly 
$14,000,000  to  $4,000,000.  In  a  few  cases  they  have  been 
increased,  but  the  increase  has  generally  occurred  instates  where 
values  are  increasing  and  to  which  population  is  flocking,  and 
therefore  the  increase  appears  to  be  warranted. 

There  is  one  case  not  in  tin.,  list  which  requires  a  special 
explanation,  that  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  whose  debt  is  bv 
far  the  largest  in  proportion  to  its  population.  This  debt 
amounted  in  1890  to  $19,781,050,  and  the  per  capita  debt  was 
not  less  than  $85.80.  It  was  incurred  in  transforming  the  city 
of  Washington  from  a  straggling  country  village  into  a  beautiful 
city.  The  work  was  done  rapidly  and  not  in  the  most  economical 
manner.  The  debt  thus  incurred,  together  with  the  interest,  is 
shared  by  the  people  of  the  District  and  by  the  United  States 
government,  in  equal  proportions.  Properly  speaking,  therefore, 
only  one-half  of  it  should  be  chargeable  against  the  District. 

Debts  of  Counties  and  Municipalities. — The  debts  of 
counties,  which  in  1890  amounted  to  about  $145,000.000,  have 
increased  slightly  during  the  decade,  though  at  a  much  less  rate 
than  the  population. 

The  debts  of  municipalities,  which  are  proportionally  large, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  larger  cities,  have  also  increased 
slightly,  being  at  the  rate  of  less  than  six  per  cent,  indicating  a 
reduction  of  the  per  capita  debt  to  a  large  extent.  The  muni- 


'//  A'   BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


cipal  debt  is  at  present  probably  almost  the  same  in  amount  as 
the  national  debt. 

The  school  district  debt,  while  small  in  total  amount,  has  more 
than  doubled  during  the  decade.  Indeed,  this  is  the  only  fea 
ture  of  the  public  debt  of  the  country  which  has  increased  in 
proportion  to  the  population. 


INDEBTEDNESS  OF  STATES   IN    189O 

The  figures  of  the  scale  represent 
millions  of  dollars 


GOVERNMENT 


Virgin  is 

Louisians 

Arizona 

Tennessee 

Nevada 

Alabama 

Maryland 

Arkansas 

NewHampshire 

South  Carolina 

Georgia 

New  Mexico 

Delaware 

Wyoming 

Maine 

Connecticut 

North  Carolina 

Missouri 

Indiana 

North  Dakota 

Massachusetts 

Mississippi 

South  Dakota 

Florida 

Idaho 

Michigan 

California 

Ohio 

Texas 

Minnesota 

Coforado 

Wisconsin 

Montana 

Rhodelsland 

Kentuc  ky 

Washington 

Kansas 

Pennsylvania 

New  Jersey 

Vermont 

New  York 

Illinois 

Nebraska 

West  Virgin i a 

Iowa 

Oregon 


',8  20 


STATE   DEBT   PER   CAPITA   IN    189O 

The  figures  of  tne  scale  represent  dollars 


40 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


BUDGET 


The  income  of  the  general  government  is  derived  almost 
entirely  from  two  forms  of  taxation — customs  duties  on  imported 
articles,  and  internal  revenue  from  the  taxation  of  spirits  and 
tobacco.  The  receipts  of  the  government  for  the  year  1890  were 
$362,600,000,  or  $6.14  per  capita  of  the  population,  of  which 
$219,500,000  was  derived  from  customs  duties,  $145,700,000 
from  internal  revenue,  and  $4,000,000  from  sales  of  public  lands. 
The  expenditures  for  that  year  amounted  to  $355,400,000,  or 
$5.55  per  capita  of  the  population,  distributed  as  follows: 

PRINCIPAL   ITEMS   OF   EXPENDITURE 

Maintenance  of  the  army $48,700,000 

Maintenance  of  the  navy 26, 100,000 

Support  of  Indian  tribes 8,500,000 

Pensions 124,400,000 

Interest  on  the  public  debt 37,500,000 

Miscellaneous,  including  civil  expenses 110,000,000 

It  is  popularly  supposed  that  the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the 
general  government,  in  proportion  to  population,  has  steadily 
and  gradually  increased  in  recent  years.  This  is  not  the  case, 
as  is  shown  by  the  following  table,  which  gives  the  receipts  and 
expenditures  per  capita  for  the  past  twenty  years  : 

RECEIPTS  AND   EXPENDITURES   PER  CAPITA,  1872  TO   1891 


YEAR 

Receipts  per 
Capita 

Payments  per 
Capita 

YEAR 

Receipts  per 
Capita 

Payments  per 
*  Capita 

1872    

$9  22 

$6  84 

1882 

$7  64 

$4  89 

1873 

8  01 

6  97 

1883 

7  37 

4  9Q 

1874  

7.13 

7.07 

1884  ...... 

6  27 

4.39 

1875 

6  55 

6  25 

1885 

5  67 

4  56 

1876  

6  52 

5  87 

1886 

5  76 

4  15 

1877  

6  07 

5.21 

1887 

6  20 

4  47 

1878  

5.41 

4.98 

1888 

6  32 

4  33 

1879    .  .  . 

5  60 

5  46 

1889 

6  01 

4  38 

1880  

6  65 

5  34 

1890 

6  44 

4  75 

1881 

7  01 

5  07 

1891 

6  14 

5  55 

GO  VERNMENT  4} 

From  the  foregoing  table  it  appears  that  during  the  last  ten 
years,  from  1882  to  1892,  neither  the  receipts  nor  the  expenditures 
have  been  as  great  per  capita  as  in  the  ten  years  between  1872 
and  1882,  and  furthermore,  that  this  reduction  is  not  due  alone 
to  the  reduction  in  the  interest  on  the  public  debt,  as  that  has 
been  fully  offset  by  the  increase  in  the  pensions. 

MILITARY   FORCES 

The  Regular  Army. — Situated  as  we  are,  with  a  broad 
ocean  upon  either  side  separating  our  country  from  any  nation 
which  could  for  a  moment  pretend  to  cope  with  us,  we  have 
little  need  of  a  standing  army.  Occasionally  there  is  an  Indian 
outbreak  in  the  far  west,  and  its  services  are  required  to  quell 
the  trouble  and  protect  the  settlers.  Occasionally,  too,  a  labor 
strike  develops  into  a  mob,  and  troops  are  called  on  to  uphold* the 
arm  of  the  law ;  but  these  are  petty  matters,  and  order  is 
usually  restored  by  the  aid  of  one  or  two  thousand  men. 

The  regular  army  is  limited  by  law  to  25,000  non-commis 
sioned  officers  and  privates.  It  contains  in  addition  2,109 
officers,  the  number  being  considerably  in  excess  of  that  required 
for  commanding  the  troops,  so  as  to  admit  of  easy  and  rapid 
expansion  should  occasion  arise.  The  following  table  shows 
the  classification  and  disposition  of  the  troops: 

CLASSIFICATION   OF   THE    REGULAR   ARMY 


Commissioned  '      Non-commissioned 
Officers  Officers  and  Privates 


General  staff 

400 

(  h'dnance  corps 

58 

450 

Engineer  corps    

113 

500 

10  regiments  of  cavalrv  

432 

6,050 

5  regiments  of  artillerv 

289 

3  675 

25  regiments  of  infantry    .  .  . 

877 

12,125 

Indian  scouts,  etc  ...,,,  

2,200 

2,169 

25,000 

Organized    Militia. — In    addition    to  the    regular  army, 
most  of  the  states  maintain  a  militia  force,  as  an  aid  to  the  civil 


42 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


authorities  in  case  of  need.  This  militia  is  under  the  direct 
authority  of  the  governor  of  the  state,  and  can  be  called  out  at 
his  discretion. 

The  following  table  shows  the  strength  of  the  organized  militia 
of  the  several  states: 

DISTRIBUTION  OP  ORGANIZED   STATE  MILITIA 


Alabama 2,766 

Arizona 288 

Arkansas 2,322 

California 4,227 

Colorado 781 

Connecticut 3,089 

Delaware  606 

District  of  Columbia 984 

Florida 1,003 

Georgia 3,007 

Idaho 313 

Illinois 3,651 

Indiana 1,972 

Iowa 2,558 

Kansas 3,143 

Kentucky 1,120 

Louisiana 1,653 

Maine 987 

Maryland 1,934 

Massachusetts 5,365 

Michigan 2,341 

Minnesota 1,803 

Mississippi 2,828 

Missouri 1,579 


Montana 616 

Nebraska 1,956 

Nevada 533 

New  Hampshire 1,000 

New  Jersey 3,377 

New  Mexico 752 

j  New  York 13,003 

North  Carolina 1,982 

North  Dakota 431 

Ohio 4,706 

Oregon 1,243 

Pennsylvania 8,120 

Rhode  Island 1,875 

South  Carolina 4,906 

South  Dakota 421 

Tennessee 1,607 

Texas 3,162 

Vermont 711 

Virginia 2,746 

Washington 1,015 

West  Virginia 872 

Wisconsin 2,238 

Wyoming 298 


The  total  organized  militia  numbers  104,477,  of  which  9,099 
are  commissioned  officers,  and  95,378  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates.  The  forces  are  classified  as  follows : 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  MILITIA 

Infantry 86,570 

Cavalry 4,574 

Artillery 4,234 

Potential  Militia.— The  potential  militia  includes  all 
males  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years.  In 
1890  this  class  numbered  13,230,168,  of  which  it  is  estimated 
that  two-thirds  might  be  made  available  in  the  event  of  war;  in 
1880  it  numbered  10,231,239,  showing  an  increase  of  29.31  per 
cent,  which  is  much  larger  than  that  of  the  total  population. 


GOVERNMENT  4;-> 

This  is  due  to  the  excessive  immigration  of  the  preceding 
decade,  as  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  the  increase  in  the  native 
born  militia  from  1880  to  1890  is  approximately  equal  to  the 
increase  among  the  native  born  of  the  total  population — viz., 
26. 04  per  cent. — while  the  increase  of  the  foreign  born  militia  is 
not  less  than  43.10  per  cent. 

The  native  born  militia  number  10,424,086,  or  78.79  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  number,  and  the  foreign  born  2,SO<>,OS2,  or  21.21 
per  cent.  This  may  be  contrasted  with  similar  elements  of  the 
total  population,  of  which  85.23  per  cent,  were  native  born, 
and  14.77  were  foreign  born. 

Of  the  total  potential  militia,  fiS.Ol  per  cent,  or  more  than 
two-thirds,  were  native  whites,  while  73.03  per  cent,  of  the  total 
population  were  native  whites.  Of  the  militia,  10.78  per  cent, 
were  colored,  and  of  the  total  population  12.20  percent,  were 
colored. 

Of  the  total  militia  a  little  more  than  one-half — namely,  51.20 
per  cent. — were  whites  of  native  extraction  (that  is,  native  whites 
of  native  parentage),  while  48.80  were  foreign  born,  native  born 
of  foreign  parentage,  or  colored. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion  of  the  potential 
militia  in  each  of  the  five  divisions  of  the  country,  in  1890, 
contrasted  with  similar  proportions  of  the  total  population  : 

PROPORTIONS  OF   POTENTIAL   MILITIA   AND   POPULATION 


North  Atlantic  Division     

28  71 

South  Atlantic  I  Hvision   

12  2:j 

North  Central  Division 

80  55 

South  Central  Division 

15  58 

Western  Division        .        

0.93 

°T  7!) 
14.14 
35. 71 
17.52 
4.84 


Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  northern  and  western  states 
the  proportion  of  potential  militia  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
population,  showing  a  preponderance  of  the  mature  male  ele 
ment;  while  in  the  southern  states  the  proportion  of  militia  is 
less  than  that  of  the  population,  showing  the  reverse. 


44  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


THE   NAVY 

Next  to  that  of  its  industrial  achievements,  the  naval  history 
of  the  United  States  has  been  its  most  brilliant  record.  From 
the  time  of  John  Paul  Jones  to  the  civil  war,  the  navy  has 
played  more  than  its  part  in  our  difficulties. 

The  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  found  the  navy  in  a  neglected 
condition.  We  had  few  war-ships,  and  fewer  still  in  condition 
for  service.  But  with  marvelous  rapidity  we  built  a  navy, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  war  we  ranked  among  the  first  of  the 
powers  of  the  world  upon  the  sea.  More  than  that,  by  our  bold 
ness  of  invention  we  revolutionized  the  building  and  fighting 
of  war-ships. 

The  war  being  over,  the  navy  was  rapidly  reduced,  until 
eight  years  ago  little  was  left  of  our  magnificent  fleet,  and  that 
little  had  been  distanced  in  the  march  of  progress.  We  were  left 
practicallv  defenseless  against  a  naval  power.  Then  we  com 
menced  to  restore  the  navy  by  the  construction  of  new  and 
modern  types  of  vessels,  and  will  soon  have  ample  protection  for 
our  seaports,  and  strength  to  spare  for  offensive  operations. 

Of  armored  and  protected  vessels,  we  have  now  twenty -two 
completed  and  sixteen  in  process  of  building,  including  a  num 
ber  of  monitors  which  are  undergoing  reconstruction.  The 
displacement  of  these  ships  ranges  from  1,875  to  10,231  tons, 
and  their  horse-power  from  34.0  to  21,000.  Their  speed  ranges 
from  6  to  21  knots  per  hour. 

Of  unarmored  vessels,  twenty -five  have  been  built  and  six 
are  under  construction.  Their  displacements  range  from  420  to 
4,413  tons,  and  their  speed  from  8  to  23  knots.  Besides  these,  a 
number  of  torpedo  boats  and  dynamite  cruisers  have  been  con 
structed,  and  there  are  still  several  sailing  vessels  in  commission. 

The  present  naval  force  consists  of  726  officers,  8,250  enlisted 
men  and  boys,  and  a  marine  corps  of  2,177  officers  and  men. 
Here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  regular  army,  is  seen  a  great 
disproportion  of  officers,  to  admit  of  rapid  and  efficient  expan 
sion  of  the  force  in  case  of  war. 


GO  VERNMENT  45 


PENSIONS 

It  has  remained  for  the  United  States  to  prove  the  fallacv  of 
the  claim  that  "  republics  are  ungrateful/'  Certainly  in  its 
treatment  of  the  veterans  of  the  late  civil  war  the  government 
has  proved  itself  the  most  generous  on  which  the  sun  ever 
shone. 

Since  the  close  of  the  war  the  pension  laws  have  been 
amended  many  times,  each  amendment  making  them  more 
and  more  liberal.  Money  has  been  poured  out  like  water  upon 
the  country's  defenders.  More  money  is  paid  out  annually 
to  its  pensioners  than  is  expended  by  many  of  the  great 
nations  of  Europe  upon  their  armaments.  Regarded  purely  as 
an  investment,  without  considering  its  sentimental  aspect,  this 
money  has  been  wisely  spent;  although,  perhaps,  the  time  is 
approaching  when  it  will  become  necessary  to  call  a  halt. 
Surely  a  nation  which  has  provided  so  munificently  for  its 
defenders  in  the  past,  cannot  fail  of  defenders  should  necessity 
arise  in  the  future. 

The  money  expended  thus  far  for  pensions  since  1861,  is 
8 1, 418,0(K"),000.  This  vast  sum  would  far  more  than  pay  olf 
the  balance  of  the  national  debt.  In  the  year  1892  alone, 
$141,000,000  was  thus  disbursed.  The  number  of  invalid  pen 
sioners  upon  the  rolls  was  536,82 1,  and  the  number  of  widows 
and  orphans  was  139,339.  The  total  number  of  pensioners  was 
876,068. 

PUBLIC   LANDS 

When  the  United  States  had  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  the  mother 
country,  the  territory  of  which  it  found  itself  possessed  was 
limited  on  the  west  by  the  Mississippi  River,  and  on  the  south 
by  the  thirty-first  parallel  of  latitude,  practically  the  northern 
boundary  of  Florida  ;  the  limits  on  the  north  and  east  being 
about  the  same  as  at  present.  The  area  contained  within  these 
limits  is  estimated  at  827,844  square  miles.  Besides  the  thirteen 


46  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

original  states,  this  area  comprised  a  large  tract  known  as  the 
Northwest  territory,  over  which  the  claims  of  several  of  the  states 
extended,  these  claims  overlapping  one  another  in  the  most 
perplexing  manner. 

State  Cessions. — As  a  simple  method  of  settling  these 
complicated  claims,  the  states  transferred  their  interests  in  this 
territory  to  the  general  government,  and  thus  the  government 
became  a  large  land-owner.  The  territory  so  ceded  now  consti 
tutes  the  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  the  eastern  part  of  Minnesota.  Again,  in  the  south  the 
state  of  Georgia  laid  claim  to  the  present  area  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  which  it  also  ceded  to  the  general  government,  in 
consideration  of  $6,200,000.  At  that  time  nearly  all  of  it  was 
an  uninhabited  wilderness,  only  a  trifling  part  being  owned  by 
individuals. 

The  states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  were  constituted 
respectively  from  parts  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and 
none  of  their  lands  ever  belonged  to  the  general  government. 

Annexation  of  Territory. — At  various  times  additions 
have  been  made  to  the  territory  of  the  United  States  by  treaty 
and  purchase.  These  are  set  forth  in  the  following  table,  and 
are  represented  on  the  map,  Plate  3. 

COST  AND  AREA   OF  ACQUIRED   TERRITORY 

DATE  AREA  COST 

1803  Louisiana  purchase 1,171,931  square  miles.      $12,000,000 

1821  Florida  purchase 59,208       '  5,000,000 

1845  Annexation  of  Texas 375,239       ' 

1848  Mexjcan  cession 545,783       '  15,000,000 

1853  Gadsden  purchase 45,535       '  10,000,000 

1867  Purchase  of  Alaska 570,000       '  '                7,200,000 

In  the  statement  of  area  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  is  included 
the  area  of  Oregon  territory,  comprising  the  present  states  of 
Washington,  Oregon,  and  Idaho.  This  region  was  acquired, 
however,  not  as  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase,  which  ex 
tended  only  to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  mountains  in  Montana  ; 
but  as  a  direct  arid  almost  immediate  result  of  it  by  occupation 
and  settlement. 


GOVERNMENT  47 

All  the  above  additions  to  our  territory  increased  the  public 
lands  owned  by  the  general  government,  excepting  jn  the  case  of 
Texas.  That  state,  which  had  achieved  its  independence  of 
Mexico,  voluntarily  joined  the  sisterhood  of  states  and  retained 
control  of  its  public  lands,  with  the  exception  of  certain  areas 
in  the  north  and  west  which  it  sold  to  the  United  States  for  the 
sum  of  $16,00o,000;  these  now  form  parts  of  New  Mexico,  Col 
orado,  and  Kansas. 

Within  the  areas  thus  added  to  the  country  were,  taken  col- 
lectively,  considerable  bodies  of  land  owned  by  private  parties, 
including  grants  which  had  been  made  by  the  Mexican  or  Span 
ish  government  to  individuals.  All  lands  thus  held  in  fee  simple 
were  of  course  retained  under  such  ownership,  but  the  balance 
of  the  territory,  forming  vastly  the  greater  proportion  of  it, 
became  the  property  of  the  government. 

The  rules  to  be  observed  by  the  government  in  the  disposal 
of  its  empire,  early  commanded  the  attention  of  legislators.  A 
liberal  and  enlightened  policy  was  soon  developed;  though 
accompanied  perhaps  l>v  certain  abuses,  it  has  proved,  on  the 
whole,  a  most  beneficial  one  for  the  people  of  the  country. 

Method  of  Survey. — The  land  was  first  cut  up  into  parcels 
convenient  for  sale  or  other  form  of  disposal,  and  the  plan 
adopted  early  in  the  present  century  has  been  pursued  up  to  the 
present  time  with  but  slight  changes.  It  consists  essentially  in 
a  subdivision  of  the  land  into  tracts  six  miles  on  a  side,  known 
as  townships:  the  subdivision  of  each  of  these  townships  into 
sections,  each  approximately  one  mile  on  a  side;  and  the  further 
subdivision  of  these  sections  into  quarter  sections,  or  even  smaller 
fractions.  The  north  and  south  lines  of  the  townships  are  theo 
retically  true  meridians,  and  hence,  while  six  miles  apart  at  the 
points  of  beginning,  they  converge  northward.  At  a  distance  of 
twenty-four  or  thirty-six  miles  a  fresh  start  is  made,  and  these 
lines  are  again  set  at  intervals  of  six  miles;  the  line  along  which 
this  fresh  start  is  made  is  known  as  a  correction  line.  The 
section  lines  are  set  one  mile  apart  on  the  south  line  of  each 
township,  and  the  shortage  in  the  breadth  of  the  township  is 
thrown  entirely  into  the  western  tier  of  sections. 

These  surveys  have  been    initiated  at  various  points  in  the 


48  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

country,  independently  of  one  another,  the  first  step  being  to 
select  an  initial  point  and  to  run  through  that  point  a  north  and 
south  line  known  as  a  principal  meridian,  and  an  east  and  west 
line  known  as  a  base  line.  The  townships  are  numbered  north 
or  south  from  the  base  line  to  which  they  appertain;  and  the 
ranges,  as  the  north  and  south  tiers  of  townships  are  called,  are 
numbered  east  or  west  from  the  principal  meridian. 

To  a  resident  of  any  of  the  Land  Office  states,  i.  e.,  those  states 
in  which  there  is  or  has  been  public  land,  these  methods  of  de 
scription  are  as  familiar  as  the  alphabet ;  and  the  statement  that 
one  owns  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  23,  in  township  10 
north,  range  15  west  of  the  sixth  principal  meridian,  defines  that 
square  half  mile  with  precision  and  much  more  clearly  than 
a  statement  of  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  place  would 
convey. 

In  this  way  the  government  has  subdivided  nearly  all  of  its 
possessions. 

Out  of  a  total  area  of  public  lands,  excluding  Alaska,  of 
1,440,000,000  acres,  there  remained  unsurveyed  in  1890,  460,- 
000,000  acres.  This  consisted,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
Indian  reservations,  of  tracts  of  desert  and  mountain  land, 
which  under  present  conditions  of  climate  and  altitude  are 
practically  uninhabitable. 

Methods  of  Disposal. — The  idea  of  disposing  of  the 
public  land  for  the  purpose  of  making  pecuniary  profit,  was 
early  abandoned ;  instead  thereof  the  purpose  of  all  legisla 
tion,  excepting  perhaps  the  earliest,  has  been  to  use  the  public 
land  as  a  means  of  inducing  the  spread  of  settlement  and  the 
development  of  the  country. 

In  legislation  concerning  the  disposal  of  land  to  private  in 
dividuals,  whatever  the  terms,  one  provision  has  always  existed, 
to  wit,  that  title  should  pass  from  the  government  to  actual 
settlers.  This  provision  forms  the  characteristic  feature  of  the 
various  preemption,  homestead,  timber  claim,  and  desert  land 
acts.  Under  the  preemption  acts,  a  man  was  permitted  to 
settle  upon  the  public  land,  laying  claim  to  a  quarter  section, 
and  after  keeping  it  a  certain  length  of  time  he  obtained  a 
patent  for  it,  upon  the  payment  of  $1.25  per  acre. 


GOVERNMENT  49 

For  many  years  this  was  the  only  general  law  under  which 
title  to  the  public  lands  could  he  secured  by  individuals.  Later 
a  homestead  law  was  enacted  :  under  its  provisions  an  actual 
settler,  after  occupying  a  quarter  section  for  a  certain  term  of 
years,  obtained  a  patent  therefor  at  no  further  expense  than 
the  fees  of  the  Land  Ofiice*.  Moreover,  the  fact  that  he  had 
homesteaded  a  claim  did  not  prevent  him  from  taking  np  an 
adjoining  claim,  so  that  under  the  laws  a  IO/KI  ji<fa  settler  could 
thus  obtain  two  quarter  sections  by  paying  for  one  of  them. 

Still  later,  when  the  desirability  of  tree-planting  upon  the 
plains  and  deserts  became  apparent,  what  is  known  as  the 
Timber  Culture  Act  was  passed,  which  enabled  a  settler  to  ob 
tain  a  third  quarter  section,  upon  furnishing  proof  that  lie  had 
planted  and  maintained  for  a  certain  term  of  vears  upon  this 
quarter  section  a  certain  number  of  trees. 

In  recent  years  another  act.  known  as  the  Desert  Land  Act, 
has  still  further  increased  the  ability  of  the  settler  to  avail  him 
self  of  the  public  land.  Tliis  act,  which  is  intended  to  applv 
onlv  to  those  regions  in  which  the  rainfall  is  insufficient  for 
farming,  provides  in  effect  that  any  settler  mav  take  up  a  full 
section,  (>40  acres,  of  desert  land,  provided  lie  conducts  water  to 
it  and  puts  it  under  irrigation. 

Amount  AliikiiatiMl. — The  total  area  of  the  public  land 
in  all  the  states  and  territories,  excluding  Alaska,  was  approxi 
mately  1.440,000,000  acres.  Of  this  area  the  United  States  had, 
up  to  June  30.  1S92,  alienated  by  means  of  grants,  patents,  etc., 
873,000,000  acres:  leaving  507,000,000  acres,  or  much  less  than 
one-half.  Of  the  area  thus  alienated,  the  principal  items  are: 

DISPOSITION    MADK   OF    PIT.LIC    LANDS 

Homesteads 1:50,000,000  acres. 

Cash  sales '224,000,000      " 

Railway  land  -rants  patented 79,000,000      " 

Swamp  lands  to  States 70,000,000      " 

Land  bounties  for  military  services 01.000,000 

Of  the   remainder  still  left   in   the  hands  of  the  government, 
estimated   at  567,000,000  acres,   a   large    part,  say   100,000.000 
acres,  consists  of  Indian  reservations.     Another  large  part,  esti- 
4 


50  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

mated  at  103,000,000  acres,  has  been  granted  to  railroads,  but 
has  not  jet  been  patented  to  them;  while  yet  another  consider 
able  area,  impossible  to  estimate,  has  been  filed  upon  as  home 
stead,  preemption,  or  timber  culture  claims,  the  titles  for  which 
have  not  jet  passed. 

With  trifling  exceptions  the  public  lands  that  are  desir 
able  to  the  agriculturist  have  now  passed  from  the  possession 
of  the  government  into  private  hands.  Those  which  remain  are 
mountainous  or  arid  lands,  not  suitable  under  present  conditions 
for  the  support  of  population.  The  wave  of  westward  migra 
tion  will  ere  long  cease  for  want  of  a  motive,  and  perhaps  a 
reflex  wave  may  be  substituted,  and  abandoned  farms  in  the  east 
again  be  occupied. 


POPULATION 


Early  Settlements.  —  Original  settlements  within  our 
territory  were  effected  mainly  under  charters  granted  by  the 
English  government.  Many  charters  were  given  which  were 
without  effect  so  far  as  settlement  was  concerned,  and  these  it  is 
unnecessary  to  mention.  Again,  some  settlements  were  made 
by  Europeans  other  than  English,  in  defiance  of  the  English 
claims  to  the  territory,  bat  these  were  afterward  conquered  and 
annexed. 

The  first  permanent  settlement  made  upon  our  soil  was  at 
Jamestown,  Virginia,  in  K>o7,  under  a  charter  of  James  I.,  of  Eng 
land,  granting  to  one  of  the  so-called  Virginia  companies  a  strip 
of  land,  extending  along  the  sea-coast  from  the  34th  to  the  41st 
parallel  of  latitude.  At  the  same  time  a  charter  was  given  to  a 
second  company,  of  a  strip  extending  along  the  sea-coast  from 
the  88th  to  the  4oth  parallel  ;  but  under  this  charter  no  attempt 
at  colonization  was  made.  The  company  possessing  this  char 
ter  was  reorganized  in  11)20,  under  the  name  of  the  Plymouth 
Company,  and  obtained  a  new  charter  granting  to  it  the  land 
between  the  40th  and  4<Sth  parallels,  and  extending  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  South  Sea,  as  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  then  called. 

Under  this  charter  the  Plymouth  colony  was  started  in  1H20, 
and  under  a  sub-grant  from  the  Plymouth  Company,  the  Massa 
chusetts  colony  was  established,  the  first  settlers  coming  over  in 
1628.  From  these  colonies,  by  the  aid  of  sub-grants  of  territory, 
settlements  were  ciTected  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut;  besides  being  extended  over  the  sea 
board  of  Massachusetts,  and  far  into  the  interior  of  the  State. 
Later,  changes  were  made  in  the  charters  of  all  these  New  Eng 
land  colonies,  bringing  each  of  them  directly  under  the  crown  of 
England. 


52 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


New  York  was  first  colonized  by  the  Dutch,  who  settled  upon 
Manhattan  island  in  1623-24,  under  a  claim  based  on  a  right  of 
discovery  by  Hendrick  Hudson.  The  settlements  thus  begun 
grew  rapidly,  and  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Dutch  until 
1664,  when  they  were  taken  by  the  English.  They  were  recap 
tured  by  the  Dutch  in  1673,  but  in  1674  were  restored  to  the 
English  by  treat v.  Settlements  in  New  Jersey  were  made  at 
Elizabeth  in  1664,  but  prior  to  that  the  Dutch  had  spread 
slightly  from  Manhattan  island  into  that  state. 

The  settlement  of  Pennsylvania  commenced  in  1681,  under  a 
charter  granted  in  that  year  to  William  Penn,  whose  enlight 
ened  policy  toward  the  Indians  saved  his  people  from  many  of 
the  ills  suffered  by  other  colonies,  and  this  one  grew  with  great 
rapidity  from  the  start.  The  settlement  of  Maryland  was  com 
menced  by  a  colony  planted  at  St.  Mary  in  1634,  under  a  charter 
issued  two  years  previously  to  Lord  Baltimore.  The  permanent 
settlement  of  the  Carol inas  was  begun  by  extension  from  Vir 
ginia.  In  1664  colonists  from  Barbadoes  settled  at  Clarendon, 
on  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  six  j ears  after  a  colony  was  formed 
on  the  Ashley  river.  •  The  settlement  of  Georgia  commenced 
much  later  ;  the  first  colony  was  started  by  Oglethorpe  at  Savan 
nah  in  1733,  under  a  charter  granted  by  the  crown  the  previous 
year,  and  spread  slowly  up  the  Savannah  river  and  to  the  neigh 
boring  islands  on  the  coast. 

Statistics  concerning  the  growth  of  the  colonies  prior  to  the 
first  census  in  1790,  are  wanting.  Our  only  knowledge  as  to 
the  population  is  derived  from  estimates,  and  the  best  are  those 
given  by  Bancroft,  which  are  summarized  in  the  following  table  : 

ESTIMATED   POPULATION  PRIOR  TO   1790 


YEAR 

White 

Black 

Total 

1G88  .  .  .  .     

200  000 

200  000 

1750  

1  040  000 

220  000 

1  260  000 

1754  

1  165  000 

260  000 

1  425  000 

1760 

1  385  000 

;510  000 

1  695  000 

1770  ... 

1  850  000 

462  000 

2  312  000 

1780  

2,388,000 

562,000 

2,945,000 

POPULATION 


53 


Thus,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  the  population  of  the 
colonies  was  probably  not  far  from  2,500,000,  of  which  it  is 
estimated  that  2,000,000  were  whites  and  500,000  blacks. 

Increase  of  Population. — The  first  census  of  the  United 
States  was  taken  in  1790.  From  that  time  to  the  present  a  cen 
sus  has  been  taken  every  ten  years.  For  a  century,  therefore, 
we  have  a  trustworthy  record  of  our  numbers.  Starting  a  hun 
dred  years  ago  with  3,929,214  inhabitants,  we  have  advanced 
with  such  tremendous  strides  that  62,622.250  was  the  constitu 
tional  population  of  the  country,  June  1,  1S90,  as  returned  by 
the  last  census.  This  did  not  include  the  inhabitants  of  Alaska 
or  the  Indian  territory,  nor  did  it  embrace  Indians  still  remain 
ing  in  tribal  relations  or  living  upon  reservations.  Including 
all  these  classes,  the  number  of  human  beings  within  the  limits 
of  the  country,  was  about  63,000, OoO. 

POPULATION   AND    RATE   OF   TXCUEASE   ?,V    DECADES 


CKNSTS  YKAKS 

Population 

1790.      

3  0:2!)  '-314 

1800  

5  308  48:5 

1810  

7  °39  88  1 

1820 

9  633  822 

1830         ... 

12  8(}()  020 

1840   

17,009.4-"):} 

1850  

23,191,876 

1860 

31,443  321 

1870 

38,558,371 

1880  - 

5<)  155  783 

1890 

0°  6°2  250 

JVr  cent,  of  Increase 


35.10 
36.38 
33.07 
33.55 
32,67 
35.87 
35.58 
22.  (53 
30.08 
24.86 


The  above  table  shows  the  constitutional  population  as 
returned  at  each  census  during  the  past  century,  with  the  per 
centage  of  increase  during  each  decennial  period.  Although 
the  population  as  returned  by  the  census  of  ls70  is  known  to 
have  been  incorrect  to  a  considerable  extent,  it  is  here  given  as 
returned;  and  the  rates  of  increase  between  1860  and  1S70,  and 
between  ISTo  and  1SSO,  since  they  were  computed  from  it,  are 
also  necessarily  incorrect,  being  too  small  in  the  former  case,  and 
too  large  in  the  latter. 


54 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  early  decades, 
when  it  was  dependent  almost  entirely  upon  natural  causes,  ran 
from  32  to  36  per  cent,  generally  diminishing  as  the  population 
increased.  Between  1840  and  1850  the  natural  increase  was 
reinforced  by  a  heavy  immigration,  and  accordingly  the  rate 
advanced  decidedly  at  that  time ;  since  then  it  has  diminished 
rapidly,  as  the  fall  effect  of  immigration  in  reducing  natural 
increase  has  become  felt.  In  the  first  twenty-five  years  the 
population  doubled ;  in  the  second  twenty-five  years  it  doubled 
again,  the  population  in  1840  being  four  times  that  in  1790. 
But  in  recent  years  the  rate  of  increase  has  diminished.  Instead 
of  doubling  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  as  it  did  in  the 
first  twenty-five  years  of  our  history,  it  has  required  thirty 
years,  the  population  in  1890  being  almost  exactly  double  that 
in  1860. 


CHINA 

INDIA... 

RUSSIA 

UNITED  STATES 

GERMANY.... 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

JAPAN 

FRANCE 

UNITED  KINGDOM. 

ITALY 

PRUSSIA 

TURKEY 

SPAIN 

BRAZIL 

MEXICO... 

COREA 

BELGIUM 

BAVARIA.. 
SWEDEN. 
PORTUGAL 
NETHERLANDS.  . 

COLOMBIA 

SAXONY 

SWITZERLAND 

CHILE 

PERU 

VENEZUELA 

GREECE 

DENMARK 

WURTEMBERG 

NORWAY 

BADEN 

GUATEMALA 

ECUADOR 

BOLIVIA 

URUGUAY 

SALVADOR 

HONDURAS 

PARAGUAY 

NICARAGUA 

COSTA  RICA 


MILLIONS  OF  INHABITANTS 

0  10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  90  100  110  120  130  140  150  160  170  1  ~0  190  200 


POPULATION    OF  COUNTRIES   OF  THE   GLOBE   IN   189O 


POPULA  TION 


55 


These  rates  of  increase  are  extremely  large  as  compared  with 
those  of  European  nations;  many  times  larger  than  the  rate  of 
France,  several  times  larger  than  that  of  Great  Britain,  and 
greatly  in  excess  of  that  of  Germany.  Indeed,  in  rapidity  of 
growth,  no  other  civilized  nation  has  ever  approached  this  coun 
try.  While  the  United  States  has  doubled  its  population  in  the 
last  thirty  years.  France  during  the  same  period  has  increased 
Imt  3  per  cent..  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  but  29  per  cent,  and 
Prussia,  but  02  percent.  Since  1797  Prussia  has  increased  in 
population  from  8,700,000  to  3o,OoO,000,  while  the  population  of 
this  country  has  increased  from  4,000,000  or  5,000,oOo  to  02,- 
022,250;  nor  is  this  tremendous  advance  due  in  any  great  degree 
to  immigration,  since  in  all  probability,  as  is  shown  later,  the  ear 
lier  rates  of  increase  would  have  been  nearly  maintained  by  the 
excess  of  births  over  deaths  had  there  been  no  immigration. 

TOTAL  POPULATION  BY  STATUS  ix  ISM 


STATKS  AND  TKKKITOKIKS 
The  United  States.  .  .  . 

Xorth  Atlantic  Division.  .  . 
M  aiiie  

I'ol'l    I.AT10N 

02.622,250 
17,401.545 

ooi^)so 

370,530 
333  42° 

STATKS  AND  TKKIMTOKII-:^ 

Minnesota  
Iowa 

I'OITLATION 

1.3()l,s2(5 
1,911.89(5 

2  079  184 

Missouri 

Xorth  Dakota  
South  Dakota  
Nebraska 

182,719 
328.  SOS 
1,058.910 
1,427,090 

10,972,893 

,X5S7035 
,767.518 
,513,017 
1,389,  (500 
,118,587 
'.,235,523 
01,834 
1,128,  179 

3,027,013 

"132,159 
00.  705 
412,198 
153,593 

Xew  Hampshire  

Massachuset  t  s 

2,238,943 
345,50(5 
740,25s 
5,997,853 
1.444.933 
5,258,014 

8,857,920 
1  OS,  493 
1,042,390 
230,392 
1,055,980 
702,794 
1,017,947 
1,151,149 
1,837,353 
391,422 

22,362,279 
3,672,316' 

2,192,404 
3,820.351 
2,093,889 

1.086.880 

Kansas 

Khode  Island  
Connecticut  

South  Central  Division.  .  .  . 
Kentuckv  

Xew  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  

South  Atlantic  Division.  .  . 
Delaware 

Tennessee  

Alabama  

Mississippi 

Louisiana  
Texas 

Maryland  
District  of  Columbia.  . 
Virginia  
West  Virginia  

Oklahoma  
Arkansas      

Western  Division   

Montana  

South  Carolina  .  .  . 

Wyoming  
Colorado  
Xew  Mexico  

Georgia  
•pii  ,,.;,!  ,, 

Xorth  Central  Division.  .  .  . 
Ohio 

Arizona  
Utah  •  

Xevada 

59,020 
207  905 
45,701 
84,335 
349,390 
313,707 
1,208.130 

Indiana 

Idaho                         

Illinois  
Michigan 

Washington   
Oregon 

Wisconsin  .  . 

California  . 

56 


THE  BUILDINO   OF  A   NATION 


Population  of  States.  —  The  preceding  table  shows  the 
total  population  of  each  state,  and  of  each  group  of  states,  in 
1S90,  arranged  in  geographical  order;  and  the  following  diagram 
presents  the  same  facts,  the  states  being  arranged  in  the  order 
of  their  population,  with  the  smallest  at  the  top. 


1 

NEVADA 

)           1 

I 

i 
• 

K 
•• 

mm 
mm 

mmm 

mtaaam 
ma^mm 
mmmmm 
mmmmm 
mmmmm 

1 

1 

• 
• 

1 

H 
2  1 

k 

UNDRE 
3         2 

IDS   OF 
4         3 

'  THO 
3         3 

USANQ 
6         4. 

S 

>         4 

8         5 

4         60 

ARIZONA 

OKLAHOMA 

WYOMING 

IDAHO                

MONTANA 

NEW    MEXICO         

DELAWARE                           .  . 

NORTH  DAKOTA 

UTAH  

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA  
OREGON             

SOUTH  DAKOTA 

VERMONT 

RHODE    ISLAND  

WASHINGTON 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

FLORIDA 

COLORADO  .. 

MAINE 

CONNECTICUT 

WEST   VIRGINIA 

MARYLAND 

NEBRASKA 

LOUISIANA 

ARKANSAS 

SOUTH  CAROLINA  
CALIFORNIA           

MISSISSIPPI 

MINNESOTA                          

KANSAS 

NEW   JERSEY 

ALABAMA 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

VIRGINIA 

WISCONSIN 

TENNESSEE 

GEORGIA 

IOWA  

— 

— 

—  • 

- 

MICHIGAN  

INDIANA 

MASSACHUSETTS 
TEXAS... 
MISSOURI  
OHIO  

i;  LINOIS 

PENNSYLVANIA... 
NEW  YORK  ...,,  

POPULATION   OF  EACH   STATE  AND  TERRITORY   IN  1890 

Rate  of  Increase  of  Population  of  States.— The 
next  table  shows  the  percentage  of  increase  of  each  state,  and 
each  group  of  states,  during  each  ten  year  period,  from  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  state. 


POPULATION 


57 


PERCENTAGE  OF  INCREASE  OF   POPULATION,  BY   DECADES 


STATES  AND 
TERRITORIES 

1880 
to 
1890 

1870 
to 
1880 

1860 
to 

1870 

1850 
to 
1860 

1840 
to 
1850 

1830 
to 
1840 

1820 
to 
1830 

33.55 

1810 

1  821  ) 

1800 
to 
1810 

17  90 
to 

1800 

The  United  States  .  .  . 
North  Atlantic  Division 

24.  8P    30.08 

22.03 

35.58    35.87 

32.  67 

33  07' 

36.38 

35.10 

19.95    17.90 

1(5.09 

22.81 

27.00 

21.99 

27  22 

21.95 

32.29 

33.92 

1.87 
8.51 
0.04 
25.57 
24.94 
19.81 
18.00 
27.74 

16.59 

3.51 
9.01 
0.52 
22.35 
27.23 
15!  80 
15.97 
24.  83 
21.01 

29.79 

rtO.22 
<72.38 
4.90 
18.38 
24.47 
10.80 
12.94 
34.83 
21.19 

9.11 

7.74 
2.55 
0.31 
23.79 
18.35 
21.10 
25.29 
37.27 
25.71 

14.05 

1(5.22 
11.74 
7.59 
34.81 
35.57 
19.62 
27.52 
31.14 
31.09 

19.20 

25.02 
5.00 
4.02 
20.85 
11.97 
4.13 
2(5.00 
10.30 
27.87 

7.  (57 

33.92 
10.37 
18.94 
10.08 
17.09 
8.19 
39.83 
15.04 
28.71 

19.11 

30.42 
13.78 
8.29 
10.83 
7.91 
5.04 
43.07 
12.98 
29.31 

11.13 

50.74 
10.  (54 
41.00 
11.63 
11.30 
4.3(5 
(52.81 
10.30 
34.49 

16.99 

57.16 
29.58 
80.82 
11.03 
0.43 
5.49 
73.19 
14.07 
38.67 

23.17 

New  Hampshire  
Vermont  
Massachusetts  
Khode  Island  
Connecticut  
New  York  
New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  

South  Atlantic  Division 

Delaware  
Maryland  .  

14.93    17.27 
11.49    19.73 
29.71!  34.87 
9.18    23.40 
23  34    39  92 

11.41 
13.0(5 
75.41 
4.44 

22.60 

17.81 
45.20 
12.29 

17.22      1.71 
24.04!     5.14 
18.24      9.71 
14.67      2.34 

5.50      0.10 
9.74      7.01 
20.57     37.53 
l:!.7:5      9.29 

13.07 
11.42 

70.4(5 
10.72 

8.70 
15.82 

District  of  Columbia. 
Virginia  

17  .71 

North  Carolina  
South  Carolina  
Georgia  
Florida  

North  Central  Division. 

Ohio  
Indiana  
Illinois 

15.59 
15.63 
19.11 
45.24 

28.78 

30.05 
41.10 
30.24 
43.54 

33.70 

7.93 
0.27 
12.00 
33.70 

42.70 

11.22 
5  27 

(50.59 
08.35 

15.:  55 
12.47 
31.07 
60.52 

61.23 

2.09 
2  27' 

3:178 

50.80 

108.11 

15..V.' 
15.00 
51.57 

15.00 
21.11 

35.08 

1(5.19    21.  -13 
20.12    38.7'5 
55.17    97.08 

87.49 

!'(•>  ')<| 

14.83 
10.82 
24.32 
27.92 
28.23 
00.71 
17.08 
23.50 
'-278.41 

1:51.00 
13.27 

23.02 

19.99 
17.71 
21.18 
38.25 
£1.73 

30.0(5 
25.93 

853.23 

207.83 
73  35 

13.92 
24.45 
48.3(5 
58.00 
35.93 
155.  (51 
7(5.91 
45.62 
193.18 

320.15 
239  91 

18.14 
30.03 
101.00 
88  .  38 
151.00 
•>  7  3i  i  7'-' 

30.33 
44.11 
78.81 
87.34 
886.88 

02.01 
99.91 
202.41 

570.90 

01.35 
133.07 
185.42 
2(50.97 

151  .90 
500.21 
349.13 
8-1.00 

108.  (57  
331.07  

Michigan  

Minnesota  
Jowa  
Missouri  
North  Dakota  
South  Dakota  
Nebraska  
Kansas  

South  Central  Division. 

Kentucky  
Tennessee 

251.13 
73.30 

315.85 

,::,,, 

ii  i  .03 

219  29 

I 

38.02 

11.51 

31.05 

12.21 

10.;  2 

51.91 

7'2.89 

38.77 
01.53 

99.7'5 

131.09  200.  (58 

12.7':i    24.81 
14.00    22.55 

19.84    2(5.03 
13.9(5    30.08 
19.01:  29.31 
10.41    94.45 

14.31 
13.10 
3.40 
4.03 
2.67 
35.48 

17.01 
10.08 
24.90 
30.  17' 
36.74 
181.21 

25.1:8 
20.92 
30.  (52 
01.10 
4(5.92 

13.30 
21.00 
90.8(5 
174.9(5 
03.35 

21.94 
01.29 
1  12.01 
81  .08 
41.08 

83.98  199.90 
117.84  195.88 

Alabama  

Mississippi  
Louisiana 

Texas  
Oklahoma  

Arkansas  

40.  58,  05.05 
71   ->7    78  40 

11.20      107!46 
60  02      210  r 

115.1'J 

221.09 

113.17 

Western  Division 

Montana 

237.49:  90.14 
192.01  128.00 
112.12  387.47 

Wvoinini;  
Colorado  

i               '    ' 

1(5.30  

New  Mexico  
Ari/ona  .. 

28.4(5    30.14 
17.43  318.72 

*1.70        51.91 

Utah 
Nevada 

Idaho  

Washington  . 

Oregon 

California  .. 


44.42;   05.8,8!  115. 49 


|  158.77 

117.41)  I. 

|  I  

>n  j  305.13 
|   70.53 

213.57  106.62  . 
92.22  73.30; 

'294!  05 

i   39.72 

54.34  47.44 

310.37 

1 

I 

l     | 

*  Decrease. 


58  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

The  thirteen  original  states,  which  comprise  practically  the 
North  Atlantic  and  South  Atlantic  divisions,  were  at  the  time 
of  the  first  census,  in  1790,  to  a  large  extent  settled  communities, 
and  their  rates  of  increase  in  the  early  decades  were  in  no  case 
very  great,  while  in  certain  cases  they  were  very  small  indeed. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  century  these  states  have  been  the 
source  of  supply  of  a  great  westward  migration.  Their  chil 
dren  have  peopled  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  lake  region,  and 
the  vast  territory  farther  west.  Indeed,  for  nearly  a  century 
these  eastern  states  have  been  the  hive  from  which  millions 
have  swarmed  westward  to  subdue  the  plains  and  deserts. 

In  the  North  Atlantic  states  these  enormous  drafts  have  been 
largely  made  good  in  numbers,  especially  during  the  past  forty 
years,  by  foreign  immigration,  which-  has  to  a  great  extent  re 
placed  the  original  stock.  This  is  not  the  case,  however,  with 
the  South  Atlantic  states,  which  thus  far  have  received  no 
foreign  immigration,  owing  partly  to  climatic  conditions  and 
partly  to  the  presence  of  the  colored  race,  with  which  the  foreign 
element  either  cannot  or  will  not  compete.  In  the  Central  and 
Western  states  the  rate  of  increase,  which  in  the  first  stage  of 
settlement  was  excessively  large,  has  diminished  greatly  as  the 
population  has  become  denser. 

Considerations  Affecting  Increase.— It  is  a  well- 
recognized  general  law  governing  the  matter,  that  unless  dis 
turbed  b}7  extraneous  causes,  such  as  wars,  pestilence,  immigra 
tion,  emigration,  change,  of  occupations,  and  so  on,  increase  of 
population  goes  on  at  a  constantly  diminishing  rate.  The  opera 
tion  of  this  law  in  the  United  States  has  been  disturbed  in  recent 
years  by  the  civil  war,  which  not  only  destroyed  a  vast  number 
of  lives,  but  decreased  the  birth  rate  materially  during  its 
progress.  Again,  the  war  was  followed  by  an  increased  birth 
rate,  as  is  invariably  the  case  under  like  circumstances,  and  to 
an  extent  that  it  is  impossible  to  estimate,  since  its  effects  are 
very  complicated. 

Within  the  United  States,  too,  there  is  an  enormous  move 
ment  of  population,  which  is  mainly  conducted  westward  along 
parallels  of  latitude.  This  also  interferes  with  the  operation  of 
the  law  of  increase  in  individual  states  and  sections  of  the  coun- 


POPULATION  59 

try.  Moreover,  changes  in  occupations  and  industries  have 
affected  in  the  past  and  are  now  affecting  the  rate  of  increase 
and  the  operation  of  this  general  law. 

In  the  settlement  of  a  region,  the  ruling  occupations  of  the 
people  usually  follow  one  another  in  a  certain  order,  depending 
largely  upon  the  density  of  settlement.  Thus,  after  the  pioneers, 
hunters,  trappers,  and  prospectors,  follow  the  graziers  and  cattle 
men,  who  support  themselves  from  the  products  of  large  herds 
of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  naturally  require  great  areas  of  country 
for  their  support.  As  the  population  becomes  less  sparse  and 
land  for  grazing  purposes  is  no  longer  to  be  had,  the  fan  nor,  who 
derives  his  living  from  smaller  areas  of  land,  gradually  takes 
the  place  of  the  grazier.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  tlio 
limit  of  density  of  a  pnrelv  agricultural  community  is  in  turn 
ultimately  reached,  and  as  that  limit  is  approached,  manufac 
tures  acquire  more  and  more  prominence;  and  since  this  class  oi 
industries  requires  limited  space  and  a  close  association  of 
people,  cities  spring  up  and  grow  with  the  increase  of  manufac 
turing. 

As  a  community  pusses  from  one  to  another  of  these  stages, 
and  especially  as  it  passes  from  the  agricultural  to  the  manufac 
turing  stage,  there  is  generally  a  considerable  reduction  in  the 
rate  of  increase.  Indeed,  the  growth  of  population  in  certain 
cases  has  for  a  time  stopped  entirely;  to  go  on,  however,  at  an 
increasing  rate  when  the  new  class  of  industries  had  been  estab 
lished.  Thus  we  tind  that  southern  Xew  England,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  have  passed  the  agricultural 
stage;  their  principal  industries  are  now  trade  and  manufactures, 
and  they  are  growing  at  a  rate  much  more  rapid  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ago,  when  they  were  beginning  to  emerge  from  the 
agricultural  stage.  On  the  other  hand,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
and  Iowa  have  nearlv  reached  the  limit  of  agricultural  settle 
ment,  and  are  now  developing  manufacturing  industries  ;  but 
the  latter  have  not  yet  reached  a  stage. sufficiently  advanced  to 
induce  a  rapid  increase  of  population.  Thus  the  growth  of  a 
state  consists  in  a  series  of  waves  representing  the  rate  of 
increase  of  its  population,  the  summit  of  each  wave  being  coin 
cident  with  the  maximum  development  of  a  group  of  industries, 


60  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

and  each  depression  between  two  waves  marking  the  period  of 
change  from  industry  to  industry. 

The  northeastern  states  are  primarily  manufacturing  centers, 
and  as  a  necessary  result  of  this  preponderance  of  the  manu 
facturing  element,  there  is  a  corresponding  preponderance  of 
urban  population.  Consequently,  more  than  half  the  population 
is  grouped  in  cities.  Agriculture  is  the  primary  industry  of  the 
Upper  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Lake  states,  but  in  many  of 
them  manufactures  are  now  acquiring  prominence.  The  indus 
tries  of  the  southern  states  are  almost  entirely  agricultural, 
while  in  the  western  states  and  territories  the  leading  industries 
are  grazing,  agriculture,  and  ruining. 

Recent  Changes. — Maine  and  Vermont  are  practically  at 
a  standstill  as  regards  increase  of  population;  New  Hampshire 
has  passed  the  lowest  point  of  its  rate  of  increase  and  is  now 
making  rapid  strides,  owing  to  the  stimulus  of  manufacturing 
industries.  The  other  northeastern  states  are  increasing  rapidly, 
more  so  than  for  several  decades. 

Among  the  southern  states,  comparison  of  the  growth 
during  the  past  decade  with  the  growth  of  those  immediately 
preceding,  is  practically  impossible,  because  the  omissions  of 
the  census  of  1870  vitiate  the  results.  As  nearly  as  can  be 
judged,  these  states  are  holding  their  own  ;  while  certain  of 
them,  notably  Florida,  Texas,  and  Arkansas,  are  growing 
rapidly. 

Of  the  North  Central  states,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Iowa  show  a 
decided  reduction  in  the  rate  of  increase,  and  this  is  true  of 
Illinois  also,  if  the  city  of  Chicago  be  not  considered.  Michigan, 
in  spite  of  its  extensive  frontier,  has  not  advanced  as  rapidly  as 
hitherto;  while  Wisconsin  has  added  to  its  rate  of  increase, 
Missouri  has  nearly  maintained  its  former  rate,  and  Minnesota 
has  not  lost  materially. 

The  Plains  states,  North  and  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  and 
Kansas,  have  had  a  very  rapid  growth  during  the  past  decade, 
although  the  rate  of  increase  as  expressed  in  percentages  has 
diminished.  A  succession  of  rainy  seasons  in  the  early  part  of 
the  decade  attracted  hundreds  of  thousands  of  settlers  to  their 
fertile  plains,  and  the  states  filled  up  rapidly,  reaching  their 


POPULATION  61 

maximum  in  1887-88,  when  they  had  a  population  in  excess  of 
that  given  by  the  census  of  1890,  three  years  later. 

Then  followed  a  series  of  dry  seasons  in  which  the  rainfall 
was  insufficient  for  the  needs  of  crops,  and  the  discouraged 
settlers  retreated  eastward  in  large  numbers.  The  state  cen 
suses  of  Kansas  taken  in  1885,  1886,  1887,  1888,  1889,  showed 
an  increase  up  to  18SS,  and  from  that  time  a  diminution  of  over 
90,000.  It  is  probable  that  there  has  been  a  similar  movement 
in  the  Dakotas  and  Nebraska,  since  their  state  censuses,  taken 
in  1S85,  gave  a  population  very  nearly  as  great  as  that  returned 
by  the  census  of  1890. 

The  states  and  territories  of  the  Western  division  show  rather 
violent  oscillations  in  population,  due  to  the  discoveries  and 
the  exhaustion  of  mines  in  various  parts  of  this  region.  Thus 
Montana  has  had  a  tremendous  growth,  owing  primarily  to  the 
discovery  of  the  mines  at  Butte,  which  have  not  only  attracted 
a  considerable  population  to  that  neighborhood,  but  have  in 
duced  the  building  of  railways  and  the  settlement  of  agricul 
tural  regions.  \Vyoming  also  has  grown  with  unusual  rapidity, 
and  this  without  the  stimulus  of  mines,  its  increase  being  due 
to  the  opening  up  of  rich  agricultural  regions  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state,  near  the  foot  of  the  Higlmrn  mountains. 
The  growth  of  Colorado  in  the  last  decade  has  been  in  its  agri 
cultural  regions  and  in  its  cities,  while  the  mining  regions  have 
suffered  a  positive  decline  ;  the  last  census  but  one  was  taken 
on  the  top  wave  of  a  mining  excitement  occasioned  bv  the  Lead- 
villc  discoveries.  The  growth  in  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and 
Utah  has  been  comparatively  slow:  while  Xevada,  owing  to  the 
exhaustion  of  the  Comstock  and  other  mines,  has  suffered  a  loss 
of  population  during  the  decade  amounting  to  more  than  one- 
third  its  numbers. 

Idaho  has  tilled  up  rapidly,  the  increase  being  mainly  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  state,  where  rich  agricultural  lands,  requir 
ing  little  irrigation,  have  invited  settlers.  Washington  has  had 
an  exceedingly  rapid  growth,  due  entirely  to  agricultural  and 
commercial  interests.  The  increase  of  settlement  has  been 
mainly  in  the  eastern  part  and  in  the  valley  of  Puget  sound. 
Oregon  also  has  filled  up  rapidly,  the  increase  being  mainly  in 


62 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


the  Willamette  valley  ;  and,  finally,  California  has  maintained 
a  steady  rate  of  increase,  its  development  of  agricultural  and 
commercial  interests  having  much  more  than  offset  the  losses 
from  the  exhaustion  of  its  mines. 

Relative  Standing  of  States. — In  1790  Virginia  was 
the  most  populous  State  in  the  Union,  and  it  continued  at  the 
head  of  the  list  for  three  decades,  when  New  York  came  to  the 
front  and  has  since  remained  first  in  population.  Tn  1790, 
and  also  in  1800,  Pennsylvania  occupied  the  second  position  ; 
in  1810  this  position  was  taken  by  New  York,  and  in  1820  by 
Virginia.  In  1830  Pennsylvania  resumed  the  second  position, 
and  has  held  it  continuously  since  that  time.  The  third  position 
was  occupied  in  1790  by  North  Carolina,  in  1800  by  New  York, 
in  1810  and  1820  by  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1830  by  Virginia: 
while  between  1840  and  1880  it  was  held  by  Ohio.  In  1890 
Illinois  in  her  upward  progress  reached  and  secured  third  place. 

DENSITY   OF  POPULATION 

The  following  table  gives  the  area  of  the  country,  and  the 
average  number  of  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile,  at  the  date  of 
each  census  : 


AREA  AND  DENSITY  OF  POPULATION  AT  EACH  CENSUS 


CENSUS  YEARS 

Area 

Density 

1790 

827  844 

4  75 

1800  

827  844 

6  41 

1810  .  .. 

1  999  775 

362 

18°0 

1  999  775 

4  82 

1830 

2  059  043 

6  25 

1840  .. 

2  059  043 

8  29 

1850  

2  980  959 

7  78 

1860  

3,025,600 

10.39 

1870 

3  603  884 

10  70 

1880   .  . 

3  603  884 

13  92 

1890  

3  603  884 

17.37 

This  table  shows  that  in  spite  of  successive  acquisitions  of 
territory,  which  have  increased  our  domain  from  827,844  to 


POPULATION 


3,603,884  square  miles,  the  density  of  population  has  increased 
within  the  century  from  4.75  to  17.37  inhabitants  per  square 
mile.  This  increase  is  also  strikingly  shown  in  the  annexed 
diagram  * 


NUMBER  OF  INHABITANTS  PER  SQUARE  MILL 
4  6  8  10  12 


14 


16 


DENSITY  OF  TOTAL  POPULATION   AT  EACH   CENSUS 

The  diagram  on  page  64,  showing  the  density  of  population  of 
various  countries  in  1890,  is  inserted  for  purposes  of  comparison. 
It.  will  be  seen  that  the  United  States  is  a  comparatively 
sparsely  settled  country,  being  exceeded  in  density  of  popula 
tion  by  every  country  of  Europe,  excepting  Russia  and  Nor 
way. 

Extent  of  Settlement. — In  order  to  distinguish  between 
settled  and  unsettled  areas,  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  a  certain 
arbitrary  definition.  Accordingly  we  will  regard  as  settled 
those  areas  having  two  or  more  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile, 
and,  conversely,  those  areas  having  a  smaller  number  of  inhabi 
tants  will  be  regarded  as  unsettled. 

Under  this  definition,  let  us  watch  the  spread  of  settlement  as 
its  advancing  wave  has  swept  across  the  continent.  At  the 
end  of  each  decade  opportunity  is  given  to  witness  the  progress 
made, 


64 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


SAXONY 
BELGIUM  

D       E 

0     1 

DO    1 

>0    2 

DO    2 

50    3( 

DO    3 

DO   4( 

XD    4 

50    & 

DO   5 

DO    6 

NETHERLANDS  
UNITED   KINGDOM  
CHINA  

BADEN   
JAPAN  

WURTEMBERG 

ITALY  
GERMANY     

INDIA 

PRUSSIA  

BAVARIA 

~ 

= 

FRANCE            

~ 

~ 

~ 

™ 

~ 

SWITZERLAND  

~ 

c 

™ 

~ 

!3 

™ 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

~ 

DENMARK  

~ 

~ 

ST 

COREA         

cs 

™ 

PORTUGAL  

^^m 

^•H 

™ 

SALVADOR  -  

SPAIN         -  

GREECE 

GUATEMALA 

mm 

SWEDEN 

^m 

TURKEY 

UNITED  STATES  . 

J™ 
™ 

NORWAY  

MEXICO 

RUSSIA 

ECUADOR 

COSTA  RICA       

COLOMBIA             

CHILE                 -- 

HONDURAS 

URUGUAY 

NICARAGUA 

PERU 

BRAZIL                   

VENEZUELA   

PARAGUAY... 

NUMBER  OF  INHABITANTS  PER  SQUARE  MILE 
IN  VARIOUS  COUNTRIES  IN  189O 


The  maps  on  Plate  4  represent  the  status  of  settlement  at  the 
beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  century.  The  colored  portions 
show  the  settled  area  of  the  country  at  each  date,  respectively. 

In  1790  settlement  stretched  continuously  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and  occupied  the  greater  part  of 
the  Atlantic  plain.  At  several  points  it  reached  feebly  west 
ward,  up  the  Mohawk  river  in  New  York,  and  down  the  Appa 
lachian  valley  in  east  Tennessee;  while  in  northern  Kentucky, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Cincinnati,  quite  a  body  of  settlement 
appeared,  isolated  from  the  rest.  Each  decade  has  seen  the 
frontier  line  pushed  westward,  crossing  the  Appalachians, 
stretching  gradually  across  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  climbing  the  plains  beyond. 

With  every  succeeding  census  there  were  new  isolated  bodies 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE  4 


THE  SETTLED  AREA  IN  1790 


THE  SETTLED  AREA  IN  1890 


POPULATION  65 

of  settlement  beyond  the  frontier,  at  points  where  the  exceeding 
fertility  of  the  soil,  facilities  for  Indian  trading,  or  valuable 
mines,  had  attracted  the  pioneers.  These  centers  have  grown 
and  spread  until  their  margins  have  touched  the  main  frontier 
line  and  they  have  become  merged  in  the  great  body  of  popula 
tion.  In  two  or  three  cases  settlements  that  grew  up  under 
foreign  powers,  have  fallen  under  our  jurisdiction  by  the  acqui 
sition  of  territory.  Among  these  are  the  old  French-Spanish 
settlements  of  southern  Louisiana,  the  American-Spanish  settle 
ments  in  Texas,  and  the  Spanish  settlements  of  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  and  California. 

In  I860  settlements  of  magnitude  first  appeared  in  the  Rocky 
mountains  and  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Those  in  California  con 
sisted  of  gold-hunters,  and  those  in  Utah  of  Mormons.  In  1S70 
they  had  spread  widely.  To  the  gold-hunters  of  California  had 
been  added  thousands  of  farmers  who  were  subduing  the  broad 
acres  of  the  Sacramento  valley.  The  Mormons  had  increased 
and  multiplied,  and  gold-hunters  had  spread  into  Idaho  and 
Montana. 

Settlement  in  1  .890.—  The  last  decade  has  witnessed  an 
unprecedented  development  of  the  public  domain.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  isolated  areas  of  small  extent,  the  eastern 
half  of  the  United  States  had  long  ago  been  subjugated,  and  the 
extension  of  settlement  has  been  confined  practically  to  the  far 
west,  which  has  been  the  scene  of  tremendous  changes  during 
the  decade. 

Ten  years  ago  there  was  a  well-defined  frontier  line  stretching 
down  the  plains  not  far  from  the  Inntli  meridian,  the  limit  of 
settlement  being  here  a  degree  or  two  east,  and  there  a  degree  or 
two  west  of  this  line:  while  beyond  it  were  scattered  and  iso 
lated  bodies  of  settlement — some  of  them,  it  is  true,  of  consider 
able  extent.  During  ten  years  this  frontier  line  moved  west 
ward,  while  the  isolated  bodies  of  settlement  have  spread  out 
east  and  west,  north  and  south,  and  joined  themselves  together, 
and  in  turn  have  been  joined  by  the  advancing  frontier  line;  so 
that  to-day  there  is  in  this  region  no  longer  a  frontier  line,  but 
rather  a  continuous  body  of  settlement,  interspersed  by  a  few 
unoccupied  areas,  like  islands,  some  large,  some  small,  which 
5 


66 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


cither  by  reason  of  their  elevation  and  consequent  rigorous 
climate,  or  the  absence  of  water  for  irrigation,  have  thus  far 
been  passed  by  in  the  selective  development  of  the  great 
west. 

The  Settled  Area. — The  following  table  presents  the 
total  settled  area  and  the  unsettled  area  at  the  date  of  each  cen 
sus,  with  the  proportion  which  the  settled  area  bears  to  the  total 
area  of  the  country  : 

SETTLED  AND  UNSETTLED  AREA  AT  EACH  CENSUS 


CENSUS  YEARS 

Total  area  of  settle 
ment  ;    2  or  more  to 
the  square  mile 

Unsettled  area 

Proportion    of 
settled  to  total 
area 

1790       

239,935 

587,909 

29$ 

1800     

305,708 

522,136 

37$ 

1810 

407  945 

1  591  830 

20$ 

1820                          

508,717 

1  491  058 

25$ 

1830     

632,717 

1,426,326 

31$ 

1840 

807  292 

1  251  751 

39$ 

1850 

979  249 

2  001  710 

33^ 

1860 

1  194  754 

1  831,746 

39$ 

1870  

1,272,239 

2  331  645 

35$ 

1880  

1,569,570 

2,034,314 

44$ 

1890 

1  947  285 

1  656  599 

54$ 

Thus  it  is  shown  that,  under  the  definition  given,  the  set 
tled  area  in  1790  comprised  nearly  one-third  of  the  total  area 
of  the  United  States,  and  that,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  addi 
tions  which  have  increased  the  national  domain  to  nearly  four 
and  a  half  times  its  original  area,  the  proportion  of  settled  area 
has  increased  within  a  century,  until  at  present  it  exceeds  one- 
half  of  the  total  area,  including  Alaska.  Excluding  this  terri 
tory  of  570,000  square  miles,  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  total  area 
of  the  country  is  now  classed  as  settled. 

This  table  shows  also  that  except  in  very  few  cases  the  settled 
area  has  constantly  and  rapidly  increased;  but  by  no  means  at 
a  uniform  rate,  or  at  rates  proportional  to  the  increase  of  popu 
lation.  To  illustrate  these  facts,  the  following  table  is  appended, 
showing  in  juxtaposition  the  rates  of  increase  of  the  settled  area 
and  of  the  population  ; 


POPULA  TION 


67 


RATES  OF  INCREASE  OP  SETTLED  AREA  AND  OF   POPULATION 


PER  CENT.  < 

)F    IN'CRKIASE 

Settled  Area 

Population 

1790-1800     

27  41 

35  10 

1800  1810 

33  44 

30  38 

1810  1S20 

24  70 

33  07 

1820  1830       .        .                 

24  .  38 

33  55 

1830  1840 

°7  50 

32  <>7 

1840-1850     

21  30 

3.")  .  87 

1850  I860 

22  01 

35  58 

18(50  1870                                                       ...     . 

6.49 

22.113 

1870  1880 

23  37 

30  08 

1880-181)0  

24.0(5 

24.86 

At  the  last  census  the  population  was  nearly  sixteen  times  as 
great  as  at  the  first  census,  while  during1  the  century  the  settled 
area  has  increased  only  ai>out  eightfold.  On  the  whole,  the 
increase  of  population  has  been  t\vice  as  rapid  as  that  of  settled 
area. 

Density  of  Population  by  Groups. — Let  us  now  glance 
at  the  distribution  of  the  population  more  in  detail,  and  dis 
cover  those  areas  which  are  densely  settled  and  those  which  are 
sparselv  settled,  using  the  following  classification — it  being 
understood  that  all  cities  of  S,0(H)  inhabitants  or  upwards  have 
been  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the  population  and 
dropped  from  consideration  : 

CLASSIFICATION   OF   SETTLED   AREA 

(a]  Less  tliiin  2  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 

(b)  2  to  (i  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 
(r)  (>  to  18  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 
(ft)  18  to  45  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 
(?)  45  to  00  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 

(/)  More  than  00  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile. 

The  first  of  the  above  groups.  (a\  that  in  which  the  population 
averages  less  than  two  inhabitants  to  a  square  mile,  is  regarded 
as  unsettled  country. 

These  limits  define  in  a  general  way  the  prevalence  of  differ- 


68 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


ent  groups  of  industries.  Group  (6),  two  to  six  to  a  square  mile, 
indicates  a  population  mainly  occupied  with  the  grazing  indus 
try  ;  or,  at  best,  a  widely  scattered  farming  population.  Group 
(c)  indicates  a  farming  population  with  a  systematic  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  but  in  rather  an  early  stage  of  settlement,  or  in  an 
unproductive  region.  Group  (d)  indicates  a  highly  successful 
agricultural  stage,  while  in  some  localities  the  commencement  of 
the  manufacturing  stage  has  arrived. 

Generally  speaking,  agriculture  is  not  so  highly  developed  in 
this  country  as  to  afford  employment  and  support  to  a  popula 
tion  greater  than  forty-five  to  a  square  mile.  The  last  two 
groups,  therefore,  (e)  and  (/),  where  the  density  of  population 
is  forty-five  inhabitants  or  more  to  a  square  mile,  appear  only 
as  commerce  and  manufactures  are  developed,  and  personal  and 
professional  services  are  therefore  in  demand. 

The  following  table  gives  the  area  included  at  the  time  of 
each  census,  in  each  of  the  five  groups  which  collectively  com 
prise  the  settled  area : 


AREA  IN  SQUARE  MILES  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OF 
SETTLEMENT 


B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

CENSUS 

2  to  6  to  a 
square  mile 

6  to  18  to  a 
square  mile 

18  to  45  to  a 
square  mile 

45  to  90  to  a 
square  mile 

90  and  over  to 
a  square  mile 

1790  

83,436 

83,346 

59,282 

13,051 

820 

1800 

81  010 

123,267 

82  504 

17  734 

1  193 

1810        .     .  . 

116  629 

154,419 

108,155 

27499 

1  243 

1820     

140,827 

177,153 

150,390 

39004 

1,343 

1830  "  

151,460 

225,894 

186,503 

65,446 

3,414 

1840 

183  607 

291  819 

241  587 

84  451 

5  828 

1850     . 

233  697 

294  698 

338  796 

100  794 

11  264 

I860  

260  866 

353,341 

431  601 

134  722 

14,224 

1870  

245,897 

363,475 

470  529 

174,036 

18,302 

1880 

384  820 

373  890 

554  300 

231  410 

25  150 

1890  

592  037 

393  943 

701  845 

235  148 

24,312 

Density  of  Population  of  States. — The  table  on  page 
69  gives  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  each  state,  and  group  of 
states,  per  square  mile,  in  1890 : 


POPULATION 


69 


POPULATION  PER  SQUARE  MILE,   BY   STATES,   IN  1890 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

The  United  States 

21  3 

Wisconsin 

31  0 

Minnesota 

16  4 

North  Atlantic  Division.    . 

107  4 

Iowa  
Missouri  

34.5 
39.0 

\orth  Dakota 

0    (J 

22  1 

South  Dakota     . 

4.3 

New  Hampshire 

41.8 

Nebraska  

13.8 

Qft    A 

17  5 

Massachusetts  

278.5 

Rhode  Island 

318  4 

South  Central  Division.    .  . 

18.9 

150  4 

New  York      

12(5.0 

Kentucky  

40.5 

New  Jersey  

193.0 

Tennessee  

42.3 

Pennsylvania 

110  9 

Alabama  

29.4 

Mississippi 

27  8 

South  Atlantic  Division  .  .  . 

33.0 

Louisiana  
Texas 

24.0 

8  5 

Delaware      

8(5.0 

Oklahoma  

1.0 

Maryland 

105  7 

Arkansas 

21  3 

District  of  Columbia.  . 
Virginia  

3,839.8 
41.3 
31  0 

Western  Division  

2.0 

North  Curolina 

33  3 

Montana                   .    .  . 

0.9 

South  Carolina 

38  2 

Wvomin^  .  .        

0.0 

31  2 

4  o 

Florida   

7.2 

New  Mexico  

1.3 

Arizona  

0.5 

North  Central  Division 

29.7 

Utah  

2.5 

0  4 

Ohio 

90  1 

Idaho 

1.0 

Indiana         .             ... 

Gl  0 

Washington  

5.2 

Illinois 

68  3 

Oregon 

3  3 

Michigan 

3(5  5 

California 

This  table  shows  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  which  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  municipality, 
the  most  densely  settled  state  is  Rhode  Island,  with  three  hun 
dred  and  eighteen  inhabitants  per  square  mile,  and  following 
that  is  Massachusetts,  with  two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  per 
square  mile.  In  these  states  the  density  of  population  is  as 
great  as  in  many  of  the  most  thickly  settled  European  coun 
tries.  Indeed,  the  entire  North  Atlantic  Division,  which  is 
preeminently  the  manufacturing  section,  has  a  dense  popula 
tion,  the  average  being  more  than  one  hundred  inhabitants  to 
the  square  mile. 


70 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A    NATION 


The  South  Atlantic  and  South  Central  Divisions,  which  are 
preeminently  farming  regions,  are  much  less  densely  peopled  ; 
and  the  scattered  character  of  the  population  of  the  western 
states  and  territories,  with  their  mixed  industries,  which  con 
sist  largely  of  grazing  and  mining  with  some  agriculture,  is 
illustrated  by  its  low  density. 

The  density  of  population  of  each  state  in  1890,  is  graph 
ically  shown  by  the  following  diagram  and  also  by  the  map, 
Plate  5. 


RHODE   ISLAND. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

NEW   JERSEY. 

CONNECTICUT. 

NEW  YORK 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

MARYLAND. 

OHIO 

DELAWARE. 

ILLINOIS. 

INDIANA. 

KENTUCKY. 

TENNESSEE.. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

VIRGINIA 

MISSOURI 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

MICHIGAN. 

VERMONT. 

IOWA 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

GEORGIA 

WISCONSIN 

WEST    VIRGINIA 
ALABAMA... 
MISSISSIPPI   ..   . 
LOUISIANA... 
MAINE 

ARKANSAS 

KANSAS 

MINNESOTA 

NEBRASKA... 

TEXAS. 

CALIFORNIA 

FLORIDA 

WASHINGTON    - 
SOUTH  DAKOTA 
COLORADO... 
OREGON. 

NORTH  DAKOTA. 
UTAH 

OKLAHOMA  .... 
NEW  MEXICO... 

IDAHO 

ARIZONA... 


100  125  150  175  200  225  250  275  300  325 


NUMBER    OF  INHABITANTS    PER  SQUARE   MILE    IN   189O 


5  0 


POPULATION 


71 


CENTER   OF   POPULATION 

The  center  of  population  is  the  center  of  gravity  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  the  country  ;  each  person  being  supposed  to  have  the 
same  weight,  and  to  press  downwards  with  a  force  proportional 
to  his  distance  from  this  center.  The  movement  of  the  center  of 
population  from  decade  to  decade  expresses  the  net  resultant  of 
all  the  movements  of  population  which  have  taken  place.  The 
following  table,  and  the  map  on  page  73,  show  its  position  at  each 
census  from  the  beginning: 

POSITION  OP  THE   CENTER  OF    POPULATION 


(•Exsrs  YKAII 

North  Latitude 

West  Longitude 

1790 

3D   ii;  5' 

76°  11  2' 

1800 

39    16  1 

70°  50  5' 

1MO.                   ...                .           . 

3!)    1  1  5 

77°  37  2' 

1820 

3!)      5  7' 

78°  33  0' 

1830 

3s    57  9' 

79  J  16  9' 

1840 

3T    2  ()' 

80    18  0' 

1850 

38    59  ()' 

81    190' 

1S60 

•>()      o  4' 

Hk>  '  4H  8' 

1870 

3f>    1°  0' 

83°  35  7' 

1880. 

39°    4  1' 

84  3  39  7' 

1890.           ...           . 

39    11.9' 

85°  32  9' 

Movements  of  the  Center. — In  1790  the  center  of 
population  was  about  twenty-three  miles  east  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  During  the  next  decade  it  moved  almost  due  west 
to  a  point  about  eighteen  miles  west  of  Baltimore,  the  westward 
movement  being  about  forty-one  miles.  Between  1800  and  1810 
it  moved  thirty-six  miles  to  the  westward  and  made  a  little 
southing,  being  then,  in  "is  10,  about  forty  miles  northwest  by 
west  from  Washington.  The  southward  movement  during  this 
decade  was  probably  due  to  the  annexation  of  Louisiana,  which 
added  quite  a  body  of  population  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans. 

Between  1810  and  1S20  it  moved  fifty  miles  to  the  westward 
and  again  slightly  southward,  being  found  in  1820  about  sixteen 


72  THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 

miles  north  of  Woodstock,  Virginia.  The  southward  component 
of  its  motion  was  probably  due  to  the  extension  of  settlement  in 
Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  eastern  Georgia.  Between  1820  and 
1830  it  moved  thirty-nine  miles  to  the  westward  and  again 
slightly  southward,  to  a  point  about  nineteen  miles  west  south 
west  of  Moorefield,  West  Virginia. 

This  southward  movement  was  due  to  the  accession  of  Florida 
and  to  the  rapid  extension  of  settlements  in  Mississippi,  Louis 
iana,  and  Arkansas.  Between  1830  and  1840  its  westward 
movement  amounted  to  fifty-five  miles,  while,  instead  of  bearing 
southward,  it  bore  slightly  northward  to  a  point  sixteen  miles 
south  of  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  the  extension  of  settlement 
in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  having  apparently  overbalanced  that 
in  the  far  south.  Between  1840  and  1850  it  again  made  fifty- 
five  miles  of  westing  and  turned  slightly  southward,  being  found 
at  a  point  twenty -three  miles  southeast  of  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia.  The  change  to  the  southward  was  probably  due  to 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  which  embraced  a  considerable  popu 
lation. 

From  1850  to  1860  it  moved  eighty-one  miles  to  the  westward 
and  turned  slightly  northward,  reaching  a  point  twenty  miles 
south  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio.  From  1860  to  1870  it  moved  west 
ward  forty -two  miles,  besides  making  a  considerable  northing, 
being  in  1870  forty-eight  miles  east  by  north  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
This  northing  was  doubtless  due  in  part  to  the  waste  and  de 
struction  attendant  on  the  civil  war  at  the  south,  and  in  part  to 
the  rapid  extension  of  settlement  in  the  northwest,  and,  further 
more,  to  the  omissions  of  the  census  of  1870. 

In  1880  the  center  had  returned  southward  to  nearly  the  same 
latitude  it  occupied  in  1860,  and  at  the  same  time  it  had 
marched  westward  fifty-eight  miles,  being  found  eight  miles  west 
by  south  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  During  the  past  decade  the  center 
of  population  has  moved  to  practically  the  same  latitude  reached 
in  1870,  and  has  made  a  westing  of  forty-eight  miles,  being  in 
1890  twenty  miles  east  of  Columbus,  Indiana. 

While  the  increase  of  population  has  been  rapid  in  many  parts 
of  the  south,  notably  in  Florida  and  Texas,  still  it  has  been  far 
overbalanced  by  the  increase  in  the  Dakotas,  Montana,  Wash- 


POPULATION 


74  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

ington,  and  Oregon,  in  the  northwest,  which  accounts  for  the 
northward  component  of  its  movement.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
reduction  in  the  rate  of  its  westward  movement  is  doubtless  due 
to  the  rapid  growth  in  the  northeastern  manufacturing  states, 
which  has  tended  toward  retarding  the  center  in  its  westward 
march. 

The  progress  of  the  nation  in  population  and  spread  of  settle 
ment  is  epitomized  in  the  following  statement:  The  center  of 
population  has  moved  westward  within  the  century  9°  22'  of 
longitude,  or  a  distance  of  five  hundred  and  five  miles.  It  has 
remained  during  this  period  in  almost  precisely  the  same  lati 
tude,  the  extreme  range  in  latitude  among  the  positions  which  it 
has  assumed  being  only  18'.6,  or  about  twenty-five  miles. 

The  center  of  population  in  1890  was  in  latitude  39°  IT. 9. 
and  longitude  85°  32'.9.  On  the  other  hand,  the  center  of  area 
of  the  country,  excluding  Alaska,  is  in  the  northern  part  of 
Kansas,  in  approximate  latitude  39°  55',  and  approximate  longi 
tude  98°  50'.  The  center  of  population  is  therefore  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  degree  south,  and  more  than  seventeen  degrees  east, 
of  the  center  of  area. 

URBAN   POPULATION 

The  population  of  the  country  may  be  classed  as  urban  and 
rural ;  the  rural  element  being  engaged  mainly  in  agricultural 
occupations,  while  the  urban  element  is  engaged  in  manufac 
tures,  transportation,  commerce,  and  personal  services  of  one 
sort  or  another.  These  two  elements  are  closely  allied  with  the 
groups  of  occupations  as  here  noted,  so  that  as  manufactures 
and  commerce  increase,  the  urban  element  increases  correspond 
ingly. 

For  obvious  reasons  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  complete  dis 
tinction  between  these  two  elements,  although  it  is  easy  to  make 
an  approximate  classification.  Many  cities  contain,  within  their 
corporate  limits,  extensive  suburbs  which  are  practically  rural 
communities;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  scattered  all 
through  the  country  small  bodies  of  population  closely  aggre 
gated,  which  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  scattered  rural 


POPULATION 


75 


population  among  which  they  dwell.  Such  cases  are  extremely 
common  in  the  New  England  towns  and  cities,  which  comprise 
considerable  areas,  and  which  consist  in  varying  parts  of  urban 
and  rural  population,  that  cannot  be  separated  from  one  another, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  town  is  the  smallest  political  unit 
returned  by  the  census.  The  Census  Office  maintains  the  iron 
rule  of  regarding  as  urban  all  concentrated  bodies  of  population 
exceeding  eight  thousand  in  number,  and  this  rule  has  been 
observed  in  the  following  discussion. 

The  annexed  table  shows  the  urban  and  rural  population  of 
the  country,  under  the  above  definition,  at  each  census,  together 
with  the  proportion  which  the  urban  population  bears  to  the 
total  population.  The  urban  and  rural  population  is  shown 
also  in  the  diagram  on  page  76. 

URBAN  AND  RURAL  ELEMENTS  OF  POPULATION 


CKNSUS  YKAKS 

Urban  Pop 
ulation. 

Kural  Pop 
ulation. 

Urban  to  total 
Population 

1790  

131  472 

3  797  742 

3  35 

1800  

210  873 

5  097  (510 

3  97 

1810  

856  920 

6  882,901 

4  93 

1820  ... 

475  135 

9  158  (587 

4  98 

1880     

804  509 

I'/OOlV)!! 

G  72 

1840  

1,453,994 

1")]  (5  15*  459 

8.52 

18.50  

2  897  58(5 

20  294  290 

12  49 

1800     

5  07°  °5(5 

°(5  871  005 

1(5  13 

1870  

8  071  875 

30  48(5  49(5 

20  98 

1880  

11  318  547 

88  887  230 

°2  57 

1890  

18,284,885 

44,337,865 

29.20 

A  century  ago  this  country  contained  but  six  cities  having  a 
population  of  more  than  8,000  each,  and  the  urban  population 
constituted  but  3.35  per  cent,  or  about  one-thirty-third,  of  the 
entire  population  of  the  country.  To-day  the  number  of  such 
cities  is  443,  and  their  population  18,284,385,  which  is  29.20  per 
cent.,  or  not  very  much  less  than  one-third  of  the  entire  popula 
tion.  The  total  population  is  about  sixteen  times  as  great  as  it 
was  a  hundred  years  ago,  while  the  urban  population  is  one 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  times  as  great. 

This  aggregation   of   the  people   in  cities  is  a  natural    and 


76 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


</> 


D  Z 

or  u 

0° 
Z    I 

<  O 

^ 

CD   ,_ 
C   < 

D 


I 


POPULATION 


77 


necessary  result  of  the  increasing  density  of  population  and  of 
the  consequent  change  in  avocations,  as  has  already  been  stated. 
It  Las  gone  on  in  this  country  at  a  constantly  accelerating  rate, 
and  the  acceleration  will  probably  be  even  more  marked  in  the 
future  than  in  the  past,  as  a  greater  part  of  our  domain  reaches 
and  passes  in  density  of  population  the  limit  of  successful  agri 
culture. 

The  following  table  shows  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  urban 
and  rural  elements  during  each  decade  : 

URBAN  AND  RURAL  INCREASE,  BY  DECADES 


PEU  CKNT.  < 

F  INCREASE 

Urban 

Rural 

1790  1800                                                   .    . 

00 

34 

1800-1810                                          

70 

35 

1810  1820                 

84 

33 

18°0  1830 

82 

31 

1830  1840 

68 

30 

1840-1850                                           ... 

99 

30 

1850-1  800                     .                

75 

30 

18<H)-1870          

59 

15 

1870  1880 

40 

27 

1880-1890 

Gl 

15 

The  increase  of  the  rural  element  appears  to  be  quite  regular, 
having  diminished  gradually  from  thirty-four  or  thirty-five  per 
cent,  to  fifteen.  Between  1860  and  1870  the  rate  of  increase  of 
this  element  was  reduced,  and  between  1870  and  1880  it  was  in 
creased,  bv  the  omissions  of  the  census  of  1870.  It  is  presum 
able  that  if  the  correct  figures  of  that  census  could  be  obtained, 
they  would  eliminate  these  apparent  irregularities. 

The  rate  of  increase  of  the  urban  element  has  been  greater  in 
each  decade  than  that  of  the  rural  element,  and  in  most  cases 
has  been  much  greater,  even  doubling  or  trebling  it. 

Distribution  of  the  Urban  Element. — The  urban  ele 
ment  is  distributed  very  unequally  over  the  country,  as  is  shown 
in  the  table  on  page  78,  which  gives  the  number  and  proportion 
of  this  element  in  each  geographic  division  of  the  country.  This 


78 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


distribution  is  shown  further  and  more  in  detail  by  the  map, 
Plate  6. 

URBAN  POPULATION  BY  GEOGRAPHIC  DIVISIONS 


GEOGRAPHIC  DIVISIONS 

Urban 
Population 

Per  cent,  of  entire 
Urban  Population 

Total  

18,284,385 

100  00 

North  Atlantic  Division     .       

9,015,383 

49  31 

South  Atlantic  Division  

1,419,964 

7.76 

North  Central  Division  

5,793,896 

31.69 

South  Central  Division 

1  147  089 

6  27 

Western  Division.  . 

908.053 

4.97 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  North  Atlantic  states  contain  nearly 
one-half  of  the  urban  population  of  the  country,  and  that  the 
North  Atlantic  and  North  Central  states  together  contain  nearly 
five-sixths  of  it. 

Of  the  total  population  of  the  North  Atlantic  states,  51.81  per 
cent,  or  more  than  one-half,  is  contained  in  cities  of  8,000  or 
more  inhabitants.  During  the  past  decade  the  urban  element  of 
these  states  has  increased  48.53  per  cent,  while  the  entire  popu 
lation  has  increased  but  19.95  per  cent.  This  rapid  growth  of 
the  urban  element  is  due  to  the  rapid  extension  of  manufactures 
and  commerce. 

In  several  of  these  states  the  urban  element  greatly  exceeds 
the  rural.  Thus  in  Rhode  Island  the  urban  population  forms 
78.80  per  cent,  in  Massachusetts  69.90,  in  New  York  59.50, 
in  New  Jersey  54.05  ;  while  in  Connecticut  the  population  is 
almost  equally  divided  between  the  rural  and  urban  elements. 

Of  the  population  of  the  North  Central  states,  25.9  per  cent., 
or  a  trifle  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  inhabitants,  was,  under 
our  definition,  classed  as  urban.  In  the  past  decade  the  urban 
element  has  nearly  doubled  in  numbers,  while  the  population  has 
increased  but  28.78  per  cent.  Although  the  number  of  cities 
has  increased  from  95  in  1880  to  152  in  1890,  the  greater  part 
of  the  increase  in  the  urban  element  has  consisted  in  additions 
to  a  few  large  cities.  Indeed,  the  increase  in  the  eleven  largest 
cities  of  these  states,  whose  population  comprised  a  trifle  more 


POPULATION 


79 


than  half  their  total  urban  population,  amounted  to  more  than 
half  the  entire  gain  in  urban  population  in  this  group  of  states. 


MILLIONS   OF    INHABITANTS 


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INDIANA                     

MICHIGAN 

IOWA                        

KENTUCKY 

GEORGIA                  --- 

TENNESSEE                         

WISCONSIN                 

VIRGINIA 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

ALABAMA 

NEW   JERSEY 

KANSAS 

MINNESOTA 

MISSISSIPPI                    

CALIFORNIA 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 

ARKANSAS 

LOUISIANA 

NEBRASKA       

MARYLAND 

WEST    VIRGINIA   

CONNECTICUT 

MAINE                        

COLORADO 

FLORIDA 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

WASHINGTON 

RHODE    ISLAND 

VERMONT 

SOUTH  DAKOTA  

OREGON 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA.... 
UTAH 

NORTH  DAKOTA  

DELAWARE  

NEW    MEXICO 

MONTANA..     

IDAHO 

OKLAHOMA 

WYOMING                               .   . 

ARIZONA 

NEVADA... 

AGGREGATE   POPULATION  AND  URBAN  ELEMENT   IN   CITIES 
OF  8,000  OR   MORE   INHABITANTS,  BY  STATES,  IN  1890 

In  the  southern  states  the  proportion  of  urban  population  is 
small,  being  less  than  13  per  cent.  The  industries  of  these 
States  are  mainly  agricultural  and  while  manufacturing  and 
mining  are  making  some  progress  they  are  still  in  their  infancy. 
The  growth  of  these  branches  of  industry  may  be  measured 
roughly  by  the  growtli  of  the  urban  element.  During  the  past 
decade  the  urban  element  of  the  south  increased  58.88  per 


80 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


cent.,  while  the  entire  population  had  increased  but  20.07  per 
cent.  In  certain  of  the  southern  states  the  proportion  of  the 
urban  element  is  still  absolutely  trifling.  Thus,  in  Mississippi 
it  constitutes  but  2.64  per  cent,  in  North  Carolina  but  3.87,  and 
in  Arkansas  only  4.89  per  cent,  of  the  total  population. 

In  the  western  states  mining,  commerce,  and  manufactures 
are  in  a  much  more  advanced  stage  than  at  the  south,  as  is 
shown  by  the  greater  proportion  of  the  urban  element.  In  1880 
it  constituted  23.97  per  cent,  of  the  population,  and  in  1890 
29.74  per  cent.,  showing  that  it  had  gained  more  rapidly  than 
the  total  population. 

Great  Cities. — In  1880  there  was  but  one  city,  New  York, 
which  had  a  population  of  more  than  a  million.  In  1890  there 
were  three — New  York,  Chicago,  and  Philadelphia.  In  1870 
there  were  only  14  cities  of  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  each. 
In  1880  this  number  had  increased  to  20,  and  in  1890  to  28. 
They  are  as  follows : 

CITIES  OF  OVER  100,000  POPULATION  IN  1890 


CITIES 

Population 

CITIES 

Population 

New  York     .... 

1  515  301 

Detroit 

205  876 

Chicago       

1  099  850 

Milwaukee    

204  468 

Philadelphia  

1,046,964 

Newark  

181  830 

Brooklyn 

806  343 

Minneapolis 

164  738 

St  Louis 

451  770 

Jersey  City 

163  093 

Boston         

448  477 

Louisville 

161  129 

Baltimore  

434  439 

Omaha.  ...       ... 

140  452 

San  Francisco  

298  997 

Rochester  

133,896 

Cincinnati  

296,908 

St.  Paul  

133,156 

Cleveland. 

261  353 

Kansas  City 

132  716 

Buffalo.               .  .     . 

255  664 

Providence 

132  146 

New  Orleans  

242,039 

Denver  

106  713 

Pittsburg 

238  617 

Indianapolis 

105  436 

Washington  

230,392 

Allegheny  

105,287 

The  population  of  these  28  cities  was  9,788,150,  which  formed 
not  less  than  15.6  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  of  the 
country. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  cities,  classified 
according  to  population,  at  the  date  of  each  census: 


POPULATION 


81 


NUMBER  OF  CITIES,    CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING   TO    POPULATION 


8.000    12.000 

20.000 

40,000 

75,000 

125,000 

250,000    500,000 

1.000,000 

CENSUS  YEARS 

Total       to         to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to             to 

and 

12,000  20.000  40.000 

75.000 

125,000 

250.000 

500,000  1,000.000 

above 

1790  6           13 

1 

1 

i 

1800  '       (5           1         

3 

o 

1810  

11            4           2 

3 

.J 

1820 

13           3 

4 

2 

2           '7 

1830... 

26         12 

3 

1 

1 

.) 



1840  

44         17 

11 

10 

1 

3 

1 

1 

18.50  

85         30 

20 

14 

3 

3 

1               1 

1800  

141          62 

34 

23 

12 

5 

1870  

226         92 

63 

39 

14 

8 

3 

5              2 

1880  !  286        110 

76 

55 

21 

9 

4              3 

1 

1890  

443        173 

105 

91 

35 

14 

14 

7              1 

3 

The  Greater  New  York. — While  the  only  defined  limits 
which  can  be  given  to  a  city  are  those  described  in  its  charter, 
and  within  which  it  has  jurisdiction,  still  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
in  many  cases  large  bodies  of  population,  to  all  intents  and  pur 
poses  portions  of  the  city,  may  not  be  credited  to  it,  because 
they  happen  to  lie  without  its  charter  limits.  There  are  many 
cases  of  large  and  populous  suburbs,  whose  inhabitants  are 
connected  with  the  adjoining  citv  through  their  business  and 
personal  interests,  which,  lying  without  the  corporate  limits,  are 
not  parts  of  it,  either  legally  or  in  the  view  of  the  Census  Office. 

By  far  the  most  important  of  such  cases  is  that  of  Xew  York, 
whose  charter  limits  comprise  only  Manhattan  island  and  a 
small  area  upon  the  mainland  to  the  north.  Within  a  radius 
of  fifteen  miles  of  the  City  Hall  are  included  not  only  all  of 
New  York  city  proper,  but  Brooklyn,  and  indeed  all  of  Kings 
county  which  is  practically  one  continuous  citv,  and  a  large; 
part  of  Queens  county  which  contains  a  number  of  populous 
towns.  On  the  north  this  radius  includes  Yonkers  and  an  im 
mense  suburban  population  in  Westchester  county,  while  across 
the  Hudson  river,  in  Xew  Jersey,  are  Jersey  City,  Hoboken, 
Passaic,  and  Paterson,  with  numerous  large  villages.  Now,  all 
this  territory  is  in  the  truest  sense  tributary  to  Xew  York.  The 
ferries  and  suburban  trains  carry  a  hundred  thousand  people 
into  the  metropolis  every  morning  to  their  business  and  return 
them  to  their  homes  at  night.  It  is  the  greater  Xew  York  in  as 
true  a  sense  as  the  metropolitan  district  is  the  greater  London. 
6 


82 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


Within  this  greater  New  York  live  three  and  a  quarter 
millions  of  human  beings,  making  a  city  two-thirds  the  size  of 
London,  and  second  only  to  it  upon  the  globe. 

GEOGRAPHIC   DISTRIBUTION 

Although  civilized  man  has  made  himself  independent  of  his 
environment  to  a  considerable  extent,  still  that  environment 
retains  a  decided  influence  over  him.  It  consists  mainly  of 
geographic  conditions,  such  as  climate,  soil,  and  altitude.  The 
influences  of  these  factors  in  determining  his  migrations  and  his 
welfare  are  of  great  interest. 

The  elements  of  climate  which  it  is  worth  while  to  consider 
in  connection  with  man's  distribution  in  this  country,  are  tem 
perature  and  rainfall.  These  elements  have  been  discussed  in 
earlier  pages  with  reference  to  the  surface  of  the  country.  Let 
us  now  see  in  what  proportions  the  population  is  distributed 
with  reference  to  them. 

Distribution  according  to  Temperature. — The  fol 
lowing  table  shows  the  proportional  parts  of  the  total  population, 
the  foreign  born,  and  the  colored,  living  at  the  date  of  the  last 
census  within  the  designated  belts  of  temperature.  The  popu 
lation  at  each  census  is  supposed  to  be  one  hundred,  and  the 
proportional  parts  are  expressed  in  percentages  thereof.  Each 
temperature  belt  comprises  five  degrees. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF    POPULATION  AS    TO    MEAN   ANNUAL 
TEMPERATURE 


DEGREES  OP  TEMPERATURE 

Total 

Foreign 

Colored 

Below  40°  

1  65 

3  43 

04 

40a  to  45°  

8  18 

1443 

21 

45°  to  50°  .  . 

27  42 

40  94 

2  16 

50°  to  55°  

31  58 

31  25 

10  20 

55°  to  60°  

13  78 

6  04 

24  16 

60°  to  65°  

9  87 

1  27 

36  43 

65°  to  70°  

6.28 

1.49 

23  57 

70°  to  75°   .   ... 

1  21 

1  03 

3  15 

Above  75°  

.03 

12 

08 

POPULATION  83 

Thus  it  appears  that  more  than  half  the  population  live  where 
the  mean  annual  temperature  ranges  from  45  to  55  degrees. 
Nearly  three-fourths  live  between  45  and  6^,  and  between  40 
and  70  degrees  practically  the  entire  population  is  found. 

The  foreign  population  live  under  colder  conditions  than  the 
total  population.  Forty  per  cent,  are  found  where  the  tempera 
ture  averages  between  45  and  50  degrees,  and  between  40  and  55 
degrees  are  found  nearly  87  per  cent,  of  the  entire  foreign  ele 
ment,  while  at  the  higher  temperatures  the  proportion  of  this 
element  is  trifling. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  colored  population  are  found  under  con 
ditions  of  temperature  much  higher  than  either  the  total  popu 
lation  or  the  foreign  born.  The  maximum  proportion  —  namely, 
36  percent. — live  between  the  temperatures  of  t>n  and  05  degrees, 
while  between  55  and  70  degrees  are  no  less  than  S4  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  colored  element.  Where  the  maximum  of  the  for 
eign  element  is  found,  there  exists  but  two  per  cent,  of  the 
colored. 

The  average  annual  temperature  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States,  excluding  Alaska  from  consideration,  is  53  degrees. 
The  average  annual  temperature  under  which  the  people  of  the 
country  live,  taking  into  account  the  density  of  settlement,  is 
practically  the  same. 

The  average  temperature  under  which  the  foreign  born  ele 
ment  exist  is  5  degrees  lower — namely,  48  degrees — whilst  that 
under  which  the  colored  people  live  is  01  degrees,  being  8 
degrees  higher  than  that  of  the  total  population,  and  no  less  than 
13  degrees  higher  than  that  of  the  foreign  element. 

Distribution  under  Rainfall  Conditions. -- The  • 
amount  of  rainfall  has  a  direct  influence  upon  most  industries, 
and  especially  upon  agriculture,  in  which  the  majority  of  the 
population  are  occupied.  Where  the  rainfall  ranges  from  30  to 
50  inches  annually,  there,  other  things  being  equal,  the  condi 
tions  are  most  favorable  for  the  agricultural  industry,  and 
within  that  range  of  annual  rainfall  is  found,  as  was  to  have 
been  expected,  the  greater  portion  of  the  population.  Indeed, 
nearly  three-fourths  of  the  population  occupy  this  region,  as 
shown  in  the  following1  table : 


84 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


DISTRIBUTION   OF  POPULATION  AS  TO   MEAN  ANNUAL 
RAINFALL 


INCHES  OF  RAINFALL 

Total 

Foreign 

Colored 

Below  10  

.30 

.55 

.03 

10  to  20            

2.61 

3.98 

.23 

20  to  30     

6.04 

10.32 

.39 

30  to  40                                 

34.11 

41  64 

5.15 

40  to  50                      

39.46 

41.08 

31.49 

50  to  60                

16.16 

1.56 

59.99 

60  to  70           

1.27 

.75 

2.73 

Above  70 

06 

12 

In  the  region  where  the  rainfall  is  greater  than  20  inches,  are 
found  97  per  cent,  of  all  the  inhabitants,  the  remaining  3  per 
cent,  being  scattered  over  the  region  where  irrigation  is  re 
quired. 

The  average  annual  rainfall  on  the  surface  of  the  United 
States,  excluding  Alaska,  is  26.7  inches.  The  average  rainfall 
with  reference  to  the  population,  deduced  by  giving  a  weight  to 
each  area  of  country  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  its  inhabi 
tants,  was,  in  1870,  42.5  inches.  In  1880  it  had  diminished  to 
42  inches,  and  in  1890  to  41.4  inches,  this  progressive  diminu 
tion  being  caused  by  the  settlement  of  the  great  plains  and  the 
arid  regions  of  the  west. 

The  distribution  of  the  foreign  born  with  respect  to  rainfall 
conditions  does  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  the  total  pop 
ulation.  On  the  whole,  the  foreigners  inhabit  a  slightly  dryer 
climate.  Nearly  all  of  them  live  where  the  rainfall  ranges  from 
30  to  50  inches  annually. 

The  habitat  of  the  colored  people  with  reference  to  rainfall 
conditions  is  more  characteristic  than  that  of  the  foreign  born. 
They  affect  regions  having  a  greater  rainfall  than  either  the  for 
eign  element  or  the  total  population.  The  maximum  proportion 
of  this  element — namely,  60  per  cent. — is  found  where  the  rain 
fall  ranges  from  50  to  60  inches,  and  between  40  and  60  inches 
are  over  nine- tenths  of  all  the  colored. 

Distribution  in  Altitude.— The  distribution  of  the  popu 
lation  with  its  elements,  in  altitude  above  sea  level,  is  another 


POPULATION 


85 


matter  of  geographic  interest.  In  the  following  table  is  given 
the  proportion  of  the  population  and  of  its  elements,  expressed 
in  percentages  of  the  total,  found  living  in  1890  at  various  eleva 
tions  ranging  from  sea  level  to  more  than  ten  thousand  feet: 

DISTRIBUTION   OF   POPULATION   AS    TO   ALTITUDE 


Total 

Foreign  Horn 

0  to 

100  

16.59 

25  .  08 

100  to 

500 

22  10 

14  28 

500  to 

1  000 

38  24 

37.84 

1  000  to 

1  500  

15.  10 

14  1)2 

1  500  to 

2  000  

3  .  70 

3.44 

2,000  to 

3  ooo  to 

3,000  
4  000 

1  84 
61 

1.29 

52 

4  000  to 

5  000        .... 

.47 

.62 

5  000  to 

(5,000  

.78 

1.23 

(1  000  to 

7  000 

26 

.37 

7  000  to 

8  000 

.1(5 

.18 

8  000  to 

9  000  . 

.07 

.10 

9,000  to 

10000  

.06 

.11 

Above 

10  000 

02 

.03 

Colored 


22.86 

47.34 

24.31 

3.74 

.80 

.58 

.20 

.05 

.08 

.03 

.01 


From  this  tal>le  it  appears  that  the  great  body  of  the  popula 
tion,  indeed  more  than  three-fourths  of  them,  live  at  elevations 
less  than  one  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  that 
more  than  nine-tenths  of  them  are  found  below  the  contour  of 
fifteen  hundred  feet.  At  greater  elevations  the  population  is 
scattering. 

The  distribution  of  the  foreign  born  in  this  respect  does  not 
differ  materially  from  that  of  the  total  population.  A  much 
larger  proportion  is  found  below  one  hundred  feet  than  in  the 
case  of  the  total  population,  while  below  one  thousand  feet 
and  fifteen  hundred  feet  the  proportions  are  very  nearly  the 
same. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  colored  element  is  its  indisposi 
tion  to  seek  great  altitudes  ;  23  per  cent,  are  found  below  one 
hundred  feet  68  per  cent,  below  five  hundred  feet,  and  no  less 
than  94  per  cent,  below  one  thousand  feet;  while  above  eight 
thousand  feet  no  measurable  number  are  found. 

The  average  elevation  of  the  United  States,  excluding  Alaska, 


86  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

is  estimated  at  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet.  The 
average  elevation  at  which  all  the  inhabitants  live  is  seven  hun 
dred  and  eighty-eight  feet.  That  of  the  foreign  element  is  some 
what  greater,  being  eight  hundred  and  ninety  feet,  while  the 
colored  population  live  much  nearer  the  sea  level,  their  mean 
elevation  being  only  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet,  a  fact 
which  serves  to  emphasize  the  tendency  of  this  element  toward 
the  low,  hot  sections  of  the  country. 

Size  of  Families. — The  average  size  of  families  has  dimin 
ished  continuously  since  1850,  when  statistics  on  this  point  were 
first  obtained  by  the  census.  The  following  little  table  shows 
the  average  number  of  persons  per  family  at  each  census  since 
that  date : 

SIZE  OF  FAMILIES  AT  EACH  CENSUS 

CENSUS  YEAR  PERSONS  PER  FAMILY 

1850 5.55 

1860 5.28 

1870 5.09 

1880 5.04 

1890 4.93 

The  family  has  diminished  in  average  size,  from  5.55  persons 
in  1850  to  4.93  persons  in  1890,  a  diminution  of  over  eleven  per 
cent,  in  the  past  forty  years. 

In  1890  the  smallest  families  were  found  in  northern  New 
England,  where  the  number  of  children  has  steadily  diminished, 
and  in  the  states  and  territories  of  the  far  west,  where,  owing  to 
the  unsettled  conditions,  the  proportion  of  women  and  children 
is  small.  The  average  family  of  the  southern  states,  although 
diminishing  in  size,  is  still  much  larger  than  in  other  parts  of 
the  country.  This  is  due  in  no  small  degree  to  the  large  pro 
portion  of  the  colored  in  these  states,  among  which  the  birth 
rate  is  exceptionally  great.  The  families  of  the  whites  in  the 
south  are  also  larger  than  the  average  of  the  country,  indeed 
quite  as  large  as  in  the  north  central  states,  where  the  large  pro 
portion  of  Germans,  Norwegians,  and  Swedes,  with  their  large 
families,  increases  the  average  of  this  group  of  states.  This 
distribution  is  shown  in  the  following  diagram  : 


POPULATION 


87 


TEXAS 

VIRGINIA 

WEST   VIRGINIA 

UTAH 

MISSISSIPPI 

TENNESSEE.. 

ARKANSAS 

ALABAMA 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

MINNESOTA 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA 

KENTUCKY 

LOUISIANA 

GEORGIA 

MARYLAND 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 

NEBRASKA 

MISSOURI 

WISCONSIN 

WYOMING 

PENNSYLVANIA.. 

WASHINGTON 

CALIFORNIA 

ILLINOIS 

IOWA 

OREGON   

COLORADO 

FLORIDA.... 

DELAWARE 

MONTANA 

KANSAS 

NORTH  DAKOTA 

INDIANA 

NEW   JERSEY.... 

OHIO.. 

SOUTH   DAKOTA. 

MASSACHUSETTS 

IDAHO 

RHODE    ISLAND 

MICHIGAN 

NEW  YORK 

CONNECTICUT 

NEVADA 

ARIZONA 

MAINE 

VERMONT - 

NEW    MEXICO.. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

OKLAHOMA 


PERSONS 
3       . 


AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  TO  A  FAMILY  IN  1890 


88 


THE  BU1LDINO   OF  A  NATION 


SEX 

Of  the  total  population  in  1890,  32,067,880  were  males  and 
30,554,370  were  females.  The  following  table  shows  the  propor 
tion  which  the  number  of  each  sex  bore  to  the  total  population 
at  each  census,  from  1850  to  1890: 

PROPORTION   OP  THE  SEXES,    1850  TO   1890 


Si 

:x 

Male 

Female 

1890     

Per  cent. 
51.21 

Per  cent. 

48.79 

1880                                     

50.88 

49.12 

1870                 .                         

50.56 

49.44 

I860     .             

51.16 

48.84 

1850  

51.04 

48.96 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  proportion  of  males  has  been  in 
excess  of  females  continuously  since  1850,  and  that  this  propor 
tion  has  tended  to  increase,  but  that  such  tendency  received  a 
set-back  during  the  civil  war,  from  which  it  is  now  recovering. 

Distribution  of  the  Sexes  in  European  Countries. 
—Under  normal  conditions  the  numbers  of  the  two  sexes  are 
very  nearly  equal,  the  preponderance,  if  any,  being  in  favor  of 
the  female.  This  is  true  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  and  is 
illustrated  in  the  following  table  showing  the  proportions  of  the 
sexes  in  the  population  of  the  countries  named  : 

PROPORTIONS  OF  THE  SEXES   IN   FOREIGN  COUNTRIES 


Males 

Females 

United  Kingdom  ... 

48  54 

51  46 

Austria  

48.91 

51.09 

Denmark 

48  75 

51  25 

Germany  .... 

48  94 

51  06 

Netherlands    ... 

49.42 

50.58 

Spain  .'  

49.04 

50.96 

Sweden 

48.44 

51  56 

Norway  

47  90 

52.10 

PERCENTAGE  op 


CO 


UJ 


£ 


POPULATION 


89 


In  every  one  of  these  countries  females  are  in  excess,  the 
proportion  ranging  from  50.58  to  52.10.  The  preponderance 
of  males  in  the  United  States  is  doubtless  due  to  immigration,  of 
which  males  constitute  a  decided  majority.  Of  the  European 
countries  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  table,  the  excess  of  females 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  Denmark,  Germany,  Sweden,  and 
Norway  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  emigration  from  those 
countries;  but  in  the  cases  of  Austria,  the  Netherlands,  and 
Spain  there  has  been  little  either  of  immigration  or  emigration, 
and  therefore  the  figures  given  for  them  present  the  result  of 
comparatively  undisturbed  natural  increase. 

Distribution  of  the  Sexes  by  States. — The  following 
table  shows  the  proportions  of  males  and  females  in  each  state, 
and  in  each  group  of  states,  in  1890.  This  is  illustrated  also  by 
the  map,  Plate  7,  facing  page  SS. 

I'KRCKNTAGK   OK   TIIK    SFA'KS   TO    TOTAL    INHALATION    IN    1800 


STATES  AND  TEKKITOKIKS 

Males 

1-Vmales 

STATES  AND  TEKIUTOIUES       Males 

Females 

The  I'nited  States  

51.21 

48.79 

Wisconsin  51  .87 
Minnesota.                                ;>:',   ll 

18.13 
Ki   ">') 

Iowa                                                ")•'  ill 

47  '(') 

North  Atlantic  Division  

49.87 

50.13 

Missouri  51  .70 

48  '.30 

Main,'  
New  Hampshire  

50.81 
4'.).  55 

49.69 
50.45 

South  Dakota  r,4.82 
Nebraska  54.10 

15.  IS 
15.90 

Massachusetts 

48  58 

51   42 

47'  .  3(  t 

Khode  Island  

48.153 
4()  V 

51.37 
50  4,S 

South  Central  Division  '     5o.<t,s 

19.02 

New  York 

4S»  (>3 

50  37 

Kentucky                                 "0  7° 

New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania 

49.85) 
50  71 

50.11 
49  29 

Tennessee  5(1.44 
Alabama                                  •")()  0(i 

49.5(5 
49  94 

Mississippi  ,     50  38 

49  (J2 

South  Atlantic  Division   

49.88 

50.12 

Louisiana  50.01 

49.99 

Delaware.  .. 
Maryland  
District  of  Columbia  

50.?.) 
49.47 
47.  515 

49.78 
">  1   17 

49.21 
50.53 
52.44 

50.22 
48  83 

Texas  ,)2  .  4;> 
Oklahoma  5C..17 
Arkansas  51.5»2 

Western  Division  58.88 

47  .  55 
43.83 

48.08 

41.12 

North  Carolina  
South  Carolina 

4!).  39 
49  72 

50.61 

50  28 

Montana  (id.  50 
Wvomiii"'                                    (>4  81 

33.50 
35  19 

(ieocLTia  .. 
Florida  

North  Central  Division  

50.07 
51.59 

51.S5 

4!  ).93 
48.11 

48.15 

Colorado  ,t     59.50 
New  Mexici  54.07 
Arizona  (il  .34 
Ttali  53.13 
Nevada                                         (53  84 

40.50 
45.93 
33.(i(i 
4(5.87 
3(5  1(5 

Ohio    .. 
Indiana  

50.53 
51  01 

49.47 

48  9<) 

Idaho  (JO.  78 
Wa«hin<'ton                              (i°  °7 

39.22 
37  73 

Illinois  

51  55 

48  45 

Oregon                                         57  95 

42  05 

Michigan  

52.14 

47.80 

California  57.95 

42.05 

Various  states  show  a  wide  range  in  the  proportion  of  the  sexes. 
In  the  states  bordering  on   the  Atlantic, .with   the  exception  of 


90  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

Maine,  Vermont,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Georgia,  and  Florida, 
females  are  in  excess ;  this  excess  is  greatest  in  the  District  of 
Columbia,  where  they  constitute  no  less  than  52.44  per  cent, 
of  the  population,  and  next  greatest  in  Massachusetts,  where  the 
corresponding  proportion  is  51.42  per  cent.  In  all  the  other 
states  males  are  in  excess ;  and,  speaking  broadly,  the  excess  of 
males  increases  with  the  longitude,  until  in  the  states  and  ter 
ritories  of  the  far  west,  where  settlement  commenced  more 
recently,  the  proportion  of  females  is  smallest.  Thus  in  Mon 
tana  there  are  two  males  to  one  female,  and  in  Wyoming  the 
proportion  of  males  is  nearly  as  great. 

This  condition  of  things  is  easy  of  explanation.  The  Atlan 
tic  states  constitute  an  old  and  settled  region,  from  which  for 
many  decades  a  stream  of  emigration  has  flowed  westward,  and 
this  stream  has  consisted  mainly  of  males.  To  a  certain  extent 
their  place  has  been  taken  by  foreign  immigration  ;  otherwise  the 
disproportion  of  the  sexes  on  the  Atlantic  border  would  be 
greater  than  it  is.  The  manufacturing  centers  of  the  northeast 
ern  states  have  attracted  large  numbers  of  female  as  well  as 
male  operatives,  and  thus  have  tended  to  maintain  the  dispro 
portion  of  the  former  sex. 

RACES 

Out  of  a  total  population  in  1890  of  62,622,250,  there  were 
7,470,040  of  negro  or  mixed  blood,  107,745  Chinese,  2,039 
Japanese,  and  58,806  Indians  enumerated  as  of  the  constitu 
tional  population.  Persons  of  negro  blood  were  classified 
according  to  shades  of  color,  as  follows:  Blacks,  6,337,980; 
mulattoes,  956,989;  quadroons,  105,135;  and  octoroons,  69,- 
936.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  these  latter  figures  are  utterly 
worthless  and  misleading.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  six-sevenths  of  the  colored  race  are  of  unmixed 
negro  blood,  or  that  the  mulattoes  number  less  than  a  million. 
As  for  the  quadroons  and  octoroons,  the  numbers  given  are  too 
absurdly  small  to  require  comment. 

The  Africans  present  the  spectacle  of  an  inferior  race  existing 
in  close  juxtaposition  with  the  whites,  and,  since  the  early  part 


POPULATION 


91 


of  the  century,  unaided  by  additions  to  their  numbers  from 
abroad.  For  seventy  years  they  existed  in  a  state  of  slavery ; 
for  the  last  thirty,  more  or  less,  in  a  state  of  freedom.  It  is  most 
interesting  to  watch  the  progress  of  this  race  and  compare  it 
with  that  of  the  whites. 

History  of  the  Races. — Throwing  together  all  these 
classes  of  colored,  the  population  is  made  up  of  S7.S  per  cent,  of 
whites,  and  12.2  per  cent,  of  colored.  Ten  years  before  there 
were  6,580,793  colored  persons  in  the  country,  and  the  propor 
tion  of  the  two  races  was  S6.54  percent,  white,  and  13.12  per 
cent,  colored.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  white 
and  colored  during  the  past  century  as  returned  by  the  censuses: 

WHITE   AND   COLOKED   POPULATION  AT   EACH    CENSl'S 


CKNSI:*  YEARS 

White 

Colored 

1790      

3  172,000 

757.208 

1800                                       

4,306,446 

1,002,037 

1810                              

5,802,073 

1,377.808 

1820               

7.862,101) 

1.771,656 

1830  

10.537,378 

2,328,642 

1840 

14,195,S05 

2,873,648 

185() 

19  553  068 

3  (538  808 

18(iO                                     

2(5,922,5:57 

4,441,830 

1870                      

33,589,377 

4,880,009 

1880 

43,  402.  1)70 

6,580,793 

1890 

54  983  968 

7  (53X  282 

The  annexed  table,  derived  from  the  above,  shows  the  pro 
portions  of  the  two  races,  given  in  percentages  of  the  total,  at 
each  census  during  the  past  century  : 

PROPORTION  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED  BY  DECADES 


CENSUS  YEARS 

White 

Colored 

1790                   

Per  cent. 
80.73 

Per  cent. 
19.27 

1800      

81.13 

18.87 

1810 

80  97 

19.03 

1820 

81.61 

18.39 

1830      .                          .           

81.90 

18.10 

1840    

83.17 

16.83 

1850 

84  31 

15.69 

1860 

85.62 

14.13 

1870    

87.11 

12.65 

1880  

86.54 

13.12 

1890 

87.80 

12.20 

92 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


Relative  Diminution  of  the  Colored  Element. — 

It  appears  from  the  foregoing  table  that  in  this  period  of  one 
hundred  years  the  proportion  of  whites  has  increased  from  80.73 
to  87.80  percent.,  and  that  the  colored  people  have  correspond 
ingly  diminished  from  19.27  to  12.20  per  cent.  In  1790  the 
first  census  showed  that  the  colored  race  formed  nearly  one-fifth 
of  the  population.  In  1840,  after  a  lapse  of  fifty  years,  during 
which  time  the  country  had  received  practically  no  increase  from 
immigration,  the  proportion  of  colored  had  fallen  to  about  one- 
sixth  of  the  whole.  In  the  next  half  century,  ending  with 
1890,  during  which  the  white  race  had  received  great  additions 
from  immigration,  that  proportion  had  fallen  to  less  than  one- 
eighth  of  the  whole  population.  The  present  proportion  of  the 
colored  element  is  less  than  two-thirds  what  it  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  century.  Indeed,  the  results  of  each  census 
show  a  diminution  in  the  proportion  of  colored,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  third  and  tenth  censuses,  and  the  latter  was 
undoubtedly  due  to  the  deficient  enumeration  of  the  census 
preceding. 

The   annexed    table   and  the  diagram  on  page  93  give   the 
percentages  of  increase  of  the  two  races : 

INCREASE  OF  WHITE  AND  COLORED,  BY  DECADES 


DECADES 

PERCENTAGE  OF  INCREASE 

White 

Colored 

1790-1800     

35.76 
36.13 
34.12 
34.03 
34.72 
37.74 
37.69 
24.76 
29.91 
26.68 

32.38 
37.46 
28.57 
31.41 
23.28 
26.61 
22.06 
9.86 
34.85 
13.11 

1800-1810  -  

1810-1820  

1H20-1830     .  .                                                 

1880-1840  ....                                       

1  840-1850  

1850-1860  

1860-1870  

1870-1880                                                   

1880-1890  .  .      .  .                                          

This  table  shows  that  with  two  exceptions,  one  of  which 
is  due  to  the  faulty  enumeration  in  1870,  the  rate  of  in 
crease  of  the  white  element  has  been  greater  than  that  of  the 


POPULATION 


93 


colored  element,  while  during  the  past  ten  3- ears  the  increase 
has  been  apparently  more  than  twice  as  rapid.  Throughout  our 
history  the  colored  race  has  almost  continuously  lost  ground  in 
proportion  to  the  white.  Although  the  birth  rate  of  the  colored 
race  is  decidedly  larger  than  that  of  the  whites,  its  death  rate,  as 
is  shown  by  the  mortality  records  of  large  southern  cities,  is  still 
greater,  being  little  less  on  an  average  than  double  the  death  rate 
of  the  whites. 


o 

o 

O 

0 

o 

o 

3 

-- 
CO 

O 

CO 

.t 
CO 

in 

CO 

CC 

2 

0 

0 

o 

0 

0 

0 

0 

g 

o 

g 

o 

(M 

0 

o 

0 

uO 

CD 

2 

£ 

I 

RATE  OF   INCREASE-WHITE  AND   COLORED 


The  relative  rate  of  increase  of  the  colored  people  lias  been, 
especially  since  the  war,  a  matter  of  great  interest.  Tlie  exag 
gerated  rate  which  was  given  to  it  between  1870  and  1880, 
because  of  the  omissions  of  the  census  of  1870,  aroused  much 
anxiety  concerning  the  future  of  the  two  races.  In  spite  of  the 
known  weakness  of  the  evidence — for  at  that  time  the  faulty 
character  of  the  ninth  census  had  been  fully  established — the 
matter  created  wide-spread  uneasiness,  and  various  projects 


94  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

were  suggested  for  averting  the  evils  threatened  by  the  expected 
numerical  preponderance  of  the  colored  race.  It  is  now  appar 
ent  that  all  this  anxiety  was  unwarranted. 

The  facts  developed  by  the  returns  of  the  eleventh  census 
fully  corroborate  the  past  history  of  the  race  and  fit  in  with  the 
probabilities  of  the  case.  During  the  seventy  years  following 
1790,  while  the  colored  race  was  in  a  condition  of  slavery,  its 
increase  was  much  less  rapid  than  that  of  the  whites,  and  in 
this  time  the  proportion  of  the  colored  element  diminished  from 
19.27  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  to  14.13  per  cent.  With 
in  the  past  thirty  years,  during  most  of  which  period  it  has  been 
in  a  state  of  freedom,  it  has  still  further  diminished,  the  propor 
tion  having  fallen  from  14.13  to  12.20  per  cent.  The  country  is 
now  much  more  interested  in  preserving  the  laboring  population 
of  the  south  than  in  getting  rid  of  it. 

The  colored  element  is  not  only  increasing  less  rapidly  than 
the  whites  in  the  country  at  large,  but  in  nearly  every  state,  as 
will  be  seen  hereafter;  and  in  all  probability  the  relative  rates  of 
increase  of  the  two  races  in  the  southern  states  will  differ  more 
and  more  widely,  as  time  goes  on  and  the  industries  of  these 
states  change  from  an  agricultural  to  a  manufacturing  character 
and  thus  attract  the  foreign  labor  element.  In  the  border  states 
and  in  the  Appalachian  mountains  manufacturing  industries  are 
rapidly  developing,  and  in  these  regions  foreign  born  labor  is 
encroaching.  This  movement  threatens  to  become  of  great 
importance  in  the  near  future. 

The  question  has  been  asked,  "  Has  the  condition  of  slavery 
or  of  freedom  proved  the  most  favorable  to  the  numerical  in 
crease  of  the  colored  people  ?  "  The  figures  of  the  census  give 
a  ready  answer.  Their  increase  has  been  more  rapid  under 
conditions  of  freedom.  In  the  thirty  years  preceding  1860, 
they  increased  48  per  cent,  while  in  the  following  thirty  years, 
during  only  twenty -seven  of  which  they  were  free,  and  which 
included  the  disturbed  period  of  the  civil  war  and  of  recon 
struction,  they  increased  not  less  than  68  per  cent. 

Distribution  of  the  Races  by  States. — The  following 
table  shows  the  white  and  colored  population  in  1890  by  states 
and  groups  of  states  : 


POPULATION 


95 


WHITE  AND  COLORED  POPULATION  IN   1890 


STATES  AND  TEKKITOUIKS 

White 

Colored 

STATES  AND  TERRITORIES     White 

Colored 

- 
The  United  States 

54,983,890 

7,038,3(50 

Wisconsin  1  r>80  473 

0  407 

Minnesota  1,290.159 

5.0(57 

North  \tlantic  Division 

IT  121,981 

279,504 

Iowa  1.901.08(5 
Missouri         ..    2528458 

10,810 
150  7°0 

Maine 

(559  2(53 

1,823 

South  Dakota..                   327.290 

1  518 

375  840 

(590 

Nebraska  1  040888 

12  0°° 

Vermont  

Massachusetts  
Rhode  Island  

331,418 
2.215,373 
337.859 

1,004 
23,570 
7,047 

Kansas  1,37(5,553 
South  Central  Division  ....    7.487,576 

50,543 
3,485,317 

\c\v  York 

5  923  M52 

7'3  901 

Kentucky  .                        1  VM)  4(5° 

2(58  173 

New  Jersey 

1.39(5,581 

48,352 

Tennessee  1  33(>  t>37 

430  881 

Pennsylvania  
South  Atlantic  Division  

5,148.257 
5.592.1  4li 

109,757 
3.2(55,771 

Alabama  833.718 
Mississippi  5H.S5I 
Louisiana  558.395 

079.299 
744.749 
500.192 

Delaware  
Maryland  
District  of  Columbia.  . 
Virginia  

1  40.000 
8215,493 
154.  (595 
1.020.122 

28.  127 
2  1.->!  897 
75,097 
(  535.858 

Oklahoma  58,820 
Arkansas  818,752 

.Western  Division  2.870.257 

3.  IK  IS 
309.127 

157.350 

North  Carolina  
South  Carolina 

1.055,382 
4(52,008 

502.  505 
089.141 

Montana  127.271 
Wyoming..  59.275 

4,888 
1,430 

Georgia  
Florida  

978.357 
224,949 

858.999 
1(5(5,473 

Colorado  4ot.K>s 
New   Mexico  112.719 
Arizona  55.580 

7.730 
10.874 
4,040 

Ohio  

Indiana 

3.584.805 
2  14(5  73(5 

87,511 
45,0(58 

Idaho  82.018 
Washington  '     3-10.513 

2,307 
8,877 

Illinois  
Michigan 

3.7(58.472 
»  i)7'->  ,S84 

57,879 
°1  005 

Oregon  301,758 
California                          1  111  072 

12.009 
9(5  158 

The  maps  on  1*11110  8,  facing  page  9(>,  give  the  number  of  col 
ored  persons  to  a  square  mile  in  each  state,  in  189<>,  and  also 
the  proportion  of  colored  to  total  population. 

In  the  South  Atlantic  and  South  Central  states  are  found  no 
less  than  88  per  cent.,  or  seven-eighths  of  the  entire  colored  ele 
ment  of  the  country.  In  these  states,  as  a  whole,  the  colored 
form  very  nearly  one-third  of  the  entire  population,  while  in 
several  of  them  they  greatly  exceed  this  proportion.  In  Louis 
iana  thev  constitute  just  about  one-half  the  inhabitants,  and  in 
Mississippi  and  South  Carolina,  nearly  three-fifths  of  the  popu 
lation  are  colored.  In  every  state  on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf 
coast,  from  Virginia  to  Louisiana,  more  than  one-third  of  the 
inhabitants  are  colored. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion,  expressed  in  per 
centages,  of  the  colored  element  to  the  total  population  at  each 
census  in  the  southern  states,  where  it  is  of  importance: 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


PERCENTAGE  OP  COLORED  (a)  TO   TOTAL   POPULATION 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

1890 

1880 

1870 
37.87 

I860 

1850 
39.77 

1840 
40.69 

1&30 
41.95 

1820 

1810 

1800 

1790 

South  Atlantic  Division  
Delaware  

.%.  as 

38.71 

38.37 

41.60 

40.41 

37.60 

.'50.37 

16.85 

2o.o<) 

32.80 
38  37 

18.04 
22.49 
33.55 
41.76 
4.19 
37.96 
60.70 
47.02 
47.01 

33.78 

is.  Si 
22.41$ 
32.% 
41.8(5 
4.07 

30.50 

58.03 
46.04 
48.84 

34.25 

19.27 
24.91 
19  07 
34.39 

22.25 

28.32 
26.51) 
37.06 

25.00 
32.80 

29.87 
40.23 

24.95 
34.88 
30.81 
42.69 

24.01 
3(5.12 
31.55 
43..  58 

23.82 
38.22 
33.07 
43.41 

22.44 

36.60 
28.57 
41.57 

21.61 
34.74 

40.86 

Maryland 

District  of  Columbia  
Virginia  

4.29 
34.  (57 

59.85 
40.74 
42.46 

81.71 

North  Carolina  
South  Carolina  
Georgia  
Florida  

South  Central  Division  
Kentucky  

36.42 

58.59 
44.05 
44.63 

35.34 

36.36 
58.93 
42.44 
46.02 

34.65 

22.49 
24.52 
44.73 
51.24 
50.65 
27.54 

35.64 
56.41 
41.03 
48.71 

34.53 

35.93 
55.03 
42.57 
47.06 

30.68 

34.38 
52.77 
44.41 

27.20 

32.24 

48.40 
42.40 

23.91 

29.35 
43.21 
37.14 

17.49 

26.81 
43.72 
35.93 

14.92 

14.42 
24.37 
44.84 

57.58 
49.U9 
21.84 
4.81 
27.40 

16.46 
26.14 
47.53 
57.47 
51.46 
24.71 

26  '.25 

16.82 
25.61 
47.69 
53.65 
50.10 
30.97 

20.44 
25.50 
45.40 
55.28 
49.49 
30.27 

24.31 
22.74 
43.26 
52.33 
55.04 

24.73 
21.43 

38.48 
48.44 
58.54 

22.95 
19.60 
33.19 
44.10 
52.01 

20.24 

17.52 

42!  94 
55.18 

18.59 
13.16 

41  '.48 

17.08 
10.59 

Tennessee  
Alabama  

Mississippi  
Louisiana  
Texas  

Oklahoma  

Arkansas  

25.22 

25.55 

22.73 

20.91 

15.52 

11.76 



a  Persons  of  African  descent  only. 

In  the  South  Atlantic  states  the  colored  race  comprised  in 
1790,  36.37  per  cent.,  and  a  century  later  it  formed  36.87  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  population,  the  proportion  at  the  beginning 
and  ending  of  the  century  being  almost  identical.  During  this 
period,  however,  it  has  oscillated  within  wide  limits,  increasing 
up  to  1830,  when  it  was  41.95  per  cent,  and  then  diminishing 
to  its  present  proportion.  In  the  South  Central  states,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  proportion  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  was 
small,  for  the  reason  that  these  states  were  first  settled  mainly 
by  whites.  As  their  settlement  progressed,  however,  the  pro 
portion  of  'colored  people  increased,  reaching  its  maximum  in 
1860,  when  it  was  35.36  per  cent.  From  that  time  it  has  dimin 
ished,  and  now  stands  at  31.76.  Taking  the  south  as  a  whole, 
the  proportion  of  the  colored  element  increased  up  to  1840  or 
1850,  while  since  that  date  it  has  diminished. 

The  above  statement  regarding  these  groups  of  states,  holds 
good  in  the  case  of  individual  states.  Thus  in  Delaware  the 
proportion  of  the  colored  element  increased  up  to  1840  and  then 
diminished.  In  Maryland  the  maximum  was  reached  in  1810, 
and  during  the  past  eighty  years  there  has  been  a  proportional 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE   8 


NUMBER  OF  COLORED  PERSONS  TO  A  SQUARE  MILE  IN  1890 


PROPORTION  OF  COLORED  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION   IN  1890 


POPULATION  97 

diminution.  The  colored  element  of  the  District  of  Columbia 
also  reached  a  maximum  proportion  in  1810,  and  from  that  point 
diminished  until  the  opening  of  the  civil  war.  During  the  war 
the  colored  people  flocked  to  the  capital  for  protection,  and  the 
proportion  increased  until  it  reached  about  one-third  of  the  entire 
population.  For  the  past  twenty  years  it  has  continued  to  hold 
practically  this  proportion.  In  Virginia  the  maximum  was 
reached  in  1820  and  has  since  diminished.  In  Kentucky  the 
maximum  was  reached  in  ls-±o.  All  these  are  border  states, 
and  all  show  a  similar  history. 

In  the  states  farther  south,  the  proportion  of  the  colored 
population  continued  to  increase  until  a  much  more  recent 
date.  Thus,  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Ten 
nessee,  it  increased  until  is^O,  and  only  during  the  past  decade 
ha^  the  proportion  suffered  any  diminution.  Tn  Alabama  the 
corner  was  turned  in  1  S7n,  while  in  Mississippi  and  Arkansas 
the  proportion  has  continued  to  increase  to  the  present  time.  In 
Louisiana  the  maximum  was  reached  in  1880.  In  Texas  and 
Florida,  which  have  received  within  the  past  twenty  years  con 
siderable  immigration,  both  from  the  north  and  from  foreign 
countries,  the  proportion  of  the  colored  nice-  has  notably  dimin 
ished. 

The  table  and  the  foregoing  statements  show  that  there  has 
been  a  perceptible  southward  movement  of  the  colored  race. 
This  movement  was  pointed  out  long  ago  bv  Judge  Touro-ee,  in 
his  ''Appeal  to  Ciesar :  "  but  he  greatly  exaggerated  its  extent, 
and  failed  to  take  into  account  the  fact  that  the  rate  of  increase 
of  the  race  as  a  whole  was  much  less  than  that  of  the  whites, 
which  is  a  vital  point.  Indeed,  the  greater  rate  of  increase  of 
the  whites  has  overcome  the  increase  of  blacks,  not  only  in  the 
border  states,  but  also  in  the  southern  states  where  this  massing 
is  taking  place. 

The  following  table  gives  the  proportion  of  the  entire  colored 
element  which  at  each  census  was  contained  in  each  of  the  five 
divisions  of  the  country,  and  serves  to  emphasize  still  more 
stronglv  what  has  been  previously  pointed  out — that  an  increase 
is  found  only  in  the  far  southern  states,  and  that  the  main  move 
ment  of  that  element  has  been  southward: 


98 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


PROPORTION  OF  THE  COLORED  ELEMENT  AT   EACH   CENSUS 


CENSUS  YEARS 

North  Atlantic 
Division 

South  Atlantic 
Division 

North  Central 
Division 

South  Central 
Division 

Western 
Division 

1890 

3  66 

42  .  75 

5.90 

45.63 

2  06 

1880  

3  46 

43.59 

5.96 

44.69 

2.30 

1870  .  . 

3.65 

44.65 

5.69 

44.40 

1.61 

1800 

3  46 

45  56 

4.35 

45.12 

1.51 

1850 

4.12 

51  14 

3.73 

40  98 

0.03 

1840  

4.95 

55.59 

3.41 

36  35 

1830  

5.38 

65.67 

1.78 

27.17 

1820 

6  25 

71.88 

1  03 

20  84 

1810 

7.42 

78  45 

0.51 

13.62 

1800  

8.29 

85.79 

0.07 

5.85 

1790  

8.90 

88.94 

2.16 

THE   CHINESE 

The  immigration  of  Chinese  commenced  in  1854,  and  con 
tinued  with  an  annual  average  of  4,000  to  5,000  for  fi  £  teen  years. 
About  1869  or  1870,  the  annual  increase  became  more  rapid, 
and  aroused  considerable  alarm,  especially  upon  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  agitation  thus  produced  brought  about  the  passage 
in  1882  of  the  Chinese  Exclusion  Act,  which  has  practically 
put  a  stop  to  the  immigration  of  that  element. 

The  total  number  of  Chinese  immigrants  from  the  beginning 
was  290,655.  The  following  figures  show  the  number  of  Chinese 
found  in  the  country  at  the  date  of  each  census: 


THE  CHINESE    POPULATION,  BY  DECADES 


1850 


758 


1860 35,565 

1870 63,042 

1880 104,468 

1890 106,462 

As  will  be  seen,  the  number  increased  with  considerable 
rapidity  up  to  1880.  Since  that  time  the  increase  has  been 
only  about  two  thousand,  showing  that  the  Exclusion  Act  has 
practically  put  a  stop  to  their  immigration. 

In  1880  the  Chinese  were  contained  almost  entirely  in  Cali 
fornia  and  Nevada,  with  &  few  in  the  other  Pacific  coast  states, 


POPULATION 


In  1890,  while  the  great  majority  of  them  were  still  living  upon 
the  coast,  they  were  much  more  scattered,  some  being  found  in 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union. 


THE    INDIANS 

When  the  whites  settled  upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  they  found 
the  country  sparsely  inhabited  by  red  men.  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  number  who  lived  at  that  time  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  United  States.  They  were  formerly  supposed  to 
have  been  extremely  numerous,  but  recent  investigations  have 
indicated  that  their  number  was  probably  never  much  larger 
than  at  present.  They  were  for  the  most  part  nomadic,  but 
their  ranges  were  limited  by  the  confines  of  neighboring  hostile 
tribes.  Certain  of  them  were  sedentary,  such  as  the  Moki  and 
Pueblo  Indians.  They  were  grouped  in  tribes,  differing  widely 
in  numbers  and  in  power.  Socially  their  status  ranged  from 
savagery  to  barbarism. 

Intertribal  wars  were  frequent.  Although  it  is  scarcely  fair 
to  say  that  the  normal  condition  of  the  Indians  was  one  of 
warfare,  still  their  code  of  morals  reflected  that  condition  very 
forcibly.  For  instance,  it  was  regarded  as  right  to  steal  from 
or  to  kill  a  member  of  a  neighboring  tribe,  while  similar  offences 
against  members  of  their  own  tribe  were  wrong. 

The  Indian  tribes  of  this  country  may  be  broadly  divided, 
according  to  language,  into  the  following  classes:  Algonquin, 
Iroquois,  Muskogee,  Sioux,  Caddo,  Kioxva,  Shoshone,  Athabas 
can,  Yuma.  and  Pima,  besides  numerous  smaller  subdivisions 
which  it  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate.  Of  these  the  Algon- 
quins  inhabited  New  England  and  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
Mississippi  Yalley.  The  Iroquois,  or  the  Six  Nations,  ranged 
over  New  York,  much  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  southern  Appa 
lachian  region.  The  Muskogees,  including  the  Cherokees  and 
Greeks,  occupied  the  Gulf  states  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  Sioux,  including  the  Dakotas.  Cheyennes,  and  Arapahoes, 
ranged  over  the  Great  Plains.  The  Caddoes  were  found  mainly 
in  eastern  Texas  ;  while  the  Shoshon.es,  including  the  tribe  of 


100  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

that  name,  the  Bannocks,  and  other  allied  tribes,  were  scattered 
over  the  Great  Basin,  Colorado,  and  central  Texas.  A  branch 
of  the  Athabascans,  who  are  mainly  northern  Indians,  was 
found  far  from  the  body  of  this  stock,  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
and  western  Texas,  where  they  are  known  to-day  as  Apaches. 
The  Pimas  are  found  in  southern  Arizona,  the  Yumas  in  western 
Arizona  and  southern  California,  and  the  Kiowas  in  southern 
Nebraska  and  southeastern  Wyoming. 

As  the  whites  have  spread  over  the  country,  the  advancing 
wave  of  civilization  has  driven  these  Indians  westward  before 
its  front,  so  that  to-day  most  of  them  are  found  far  from  their 
original  homes. 

Treatment  of  the  Indians. — The  policy  of  the  govern 
ment  toward  the  Indian  tribes,  as  a  rule,  has  been  that  of  a 
protectorate.  It  has  treated  with  the  tribes  as  one  power  might 
with  another  under  its  jurisdiction.  As  land  has  been  required 
for  the  use  of  settlers,  the  government  has,  in  most  cases,  pur 
chased  it  from  the  tribes,  the  payments  commonly  taking  the 
form  of  annuities.  In  this  way  the  Indians  have  been  gradu 
ally  dispossessed  of  the  enormous  areas  over  which  they  formerly 
ranged,  and  now  such  of  them  as  still  remain  under  tribal 
organizations  are  confined  to  reservations. 

The  Indian  population  of  the  United  States  in  1890,  as 
appears  from  the  returns  of  the  census,  was  249,273.  There 
were  then  living  upon  reservations  216,706  Indians.  The  reser 
vations  have  a  total  area  of  98,145,788  acres,  thus  giving  to 
each  Indian  about  450  acres.  Of  the  Indians  upon  reservations, 
133,382,  or  nearly  two-thirds,  are  supported  wholly  or  partiallv 
by  the  general  government.  The  remainder,  while  under  the 
control  of  the  government,  are  self-supporting,  and  all  are  self- 
governing. 

First  in  importance  of  those  not  supported  by  the  government 
are  what  are  known  as  the  five  civilized  tribes — namely,  the 
Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  Creeks,  and  Seminoles — com 
prising  a  total  number  of  52,065,  who  occupy  reservations  which 
practically  comprise  Indian  territory.  These  Indians  have  made 
great  progress  in  civilization.  Most  of  them  are  educated,  live 
in  houses,  and  maintain  forms  of  government  quite  similar 


POPULATION  101 

to  those  of  states.  There  are  also  the  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico, 
numbering  8,278  ;  the  remnant  of  the  Six  Nations  now  living 
on  reservations  in  New  York,  and  now  numbering  5,304 ; 
and  the  Cberokees  of  North  Carolina,  numbering  2,885.  The 
latter  are  located  upon  a  reservation  in  a  mountainous  sec 
tion  of  the  state,  where  they  have  reached  a  degree  of  civili 
zation  that  compares  favorably  with  that  of  the  neighboring 
whites. 

For  the  support  of  Indians  during  the  year  1892,  the  general 
government  appropriated  the  sum  of  $11,150,578,  equivalent  to 
about  $84  per  head  of  those  supported. 

The  work  of  civilizing  the  Indians  has  been  greatly  ham 
pered  by  this  policy  of  supporting  them,  and  thus  removing 
all  incentive  to  labor.  Indeed,  those  who  have  had  their 
wants  supplied  have  made  little  or  no  advance  in  civilization. 
Such  progress  as  has  been  made  has  been  con  lined  almost 
entirely  to  the  Indians  v/ho  have  had  little  or  no  assistance 
from  the  government,  but  have  been  thrown  upon  their  own 
resources. 

Indeed,  the  history  of  the  Indians  who  have  been  fed  and 
clothed  by  the  government,  forms  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
probable  effect  upon  mankind  of  the  application  of  the  Bellamy 
theories.  The  situation  is  precisely  such  as  Mr.  Bellamy  advo 
cates — every  man  entitled  to  support  from  the  State  and  receiv 
ing  it.  There  is  little  likelihood  that  the  white  man,  under 
similar  circumstances,  would  behave  better  than  the  red  man 
has  done. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  policy  in  regard  to  ration 
Indians — the  name  applied  to  those  supported  by  the  govern 
ment — has  been  so  modified,  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  tribes, 
that  lands  have  been  allotted  in  severalty,  and  rations  have  been 
issued  only  to  those  Indians  who  work  the  land,  thus  giving 
them  a  motive  for  working.  Altogether  the  outlook  for  the 
civilization  of  the  Indians  is  brighter  at  present  than  ever 
before, 


102 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


NATIVITY 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  the  strongest  and  most  virile 
nations  are  the  composite  ones,  those  made  up  from  a  mixture 
of  blood.  If  this  be  true,  we  should  easily  distance  all  others, 
ancient  or  modern,  since  the  blood  of  immigrants  from  every 
country  of  Europe,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Arctic,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  negroes,  Chinese,  and  Indians  within  our  borders, 
bids  fair  to  make  of  us  the  most  thoroughly  composite  nation 
that  ever  existed. 

Of  a  total  population  of  62,622,250,  the  eleventh  census 
reported  that  9,249,547  were  of  foreign,  and  53,372,703  of  native 
birth.  Of  the  persons  of  native  birth  7,638,360  were  colored, 
including  those  of  African  blood,  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  "  con 
stitutional  Indians,"  leaving  as  native  whites  45,862,023.  The 
following  table  shows  the  nativity  of  the  population  at  each 
census  since  and  including  that  of  1850  : 

NATIVITY  OF  THE  POPULATION,  1850  TO   1890 


CENSUS  YEARS 

Native 

Native  White 

Foreign 

1850             

20  947,274 

17  273  804 

2  244  602 

I860      

27  304,624 

22,862  794 

4  138  697 

1870          

32,991,142 

28  111,133 

5  567  229 

1880 

40  475  840 

36  895  047 

6  679  943 

1890 

53  372  703 

45  862  023 

9  249  547 

In  the  next  table  are  given  the  proportions  which  each  of  these 
elements  of  the  population  bore  to  the  total  at  each  census : 

RATIO   OF  NATIVE  AND  FOREIGN  POPULATION,  1850  TO   1890 


CENSUS  YEARS 

Native 

Native  White 

Foreign 

1850 

90  32 

73  24 

9  68 

1860     . 

86  84 

73  46 

13  16 

1870 

85  56 

72  91 

14  44 

1880    

86.68 

73.56 

13  32 

1890  

85.23 

73.24 

14.77 

POPULATION  1Q3 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  proportion  of  foreign  birth,  which 
was  9.68  per  cent,  of  the  population  in  1850,  rose  in  ten  years  to 
13.16  per  cent,  and  since  then  has  more  than  retained  this  pro 
portion,  being  in  1890  1477  per  cent. 

IMMIGRATION 

During  the  early  decades  of  our  history  immigration  was 
slight.  The  attractions  offered  to  Europeans  were  not  suffi 
ciently  great  at  that  early  stage  of  our  development  to  induce 
them  to  undergo  the  expense  and  hardships  of  a  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic.  Prior  to  1820  immigration  was  trifling  in  amount, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  succession  of  famines  in  Ireland,  between 
1840  and  1850,  coupled  with  political  troubles  in  Germany,  that 
immigration  upon  a  large  scale  set  in.  During  the  past  forty  or 
forty-five  years,  however,  there  has  been  a  migration  of  peoples 
across  the  Atlantic  to  these  shores,  the  equal  of  which  in  any 
quarter  the  world  had  probably  never  seen  before.  Immigra 
tion  statistics  were  first  obtained  in  1*20,  and  have  been  kept 
continuously  since  that  time.  The  total  number  of  immigrants 
in  the  seventy  years  which  have  since  elapsed  is  not  less  than 
15,376,986.  The  following  table  shows  the  accessions  to  its  pop 
ulation  by  immigration  which  this  country  has  received  in  each 
ten  year  period  since  182<>: 

IMMIGRATION,   1821    TO   1890,   BY   DECADES 

1821-1830 143,439 

1831-1840 599, 125 

1841-1850 1.713,251 

1851-1860 2.579,580 

1861-1870 2,282.787 

1871-1880 2,812,191 

1881-1890 5,246,613 

Total 15.876.986 

Of  this  enormous  number  it  will  be  seen  that  more  than  one- 
third  have  arrived  during  the  past  ten  years,  almost  double  the 
number  which  came  between  1870  and  1880,  and  more  than 
double  that  of  any  preceding  decade.  The  next  table  shows 


104 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


the  immigration,  by  decades,  from  the  countries  whence  it  was 
mainly  derived: 


PRINCIPAL  CONSTITUENTS  OP  THE  IMMIGRATION 


NATIONALITY 

1821 
to 
1830 

18bl 
to 
1840 

1841 

to 
1850 

1851 
to 
1860 

1861 
to 
1870 

1871 
to 
1880 

1881 
to 

1890 

2277 

13  624 

41,723 

59,309 

153  872 

383  269 

392  802a 

Ireland  

50,724 

207,381 

780,719 

914,119 

435,778 

436,871 

655,482 

b  England  and  Wales  
Scotland  

22,167 
2,912 

73,143 

2,667 

263,332 
3,712 

385,643 
38,331 

568,128 
38,769 

460,479 
87,564 

657,488 
149,8(59 

Norway  and  Sweden 

91 

1,201 

13,903 

20,931 

109,298 

211,245 

568,362 

Denmark....            

169 

1,063 

539 

3,749 

17,094 

i     31.  771 

88,132 

Russia  and  Poland 

91 

646 

656 

1,621 

4,536 

52,254 

265.088 

7,800 

72,969 

S53.719 

Italy 

408 

2,253 

1,870 

9,231 

11,728 

55,759 

307,309 

Germany  

6,761 

152,454 

434,626 

951,667 

787,468 

718,182 

1,452,970 

France                                    .  .  . 

8,497 

45,575 

77,262 

76,358 

35,984 

72,206 

50.464 

Netherlands  

1,078 

1,412 

8,251 

10,789 

9,102 

16,541 

53,701 

a  Five  years  only. 


b  Including  Great  Britain,  not  specified. 


From  this  it  appears  that,  of  the  total  immigration,  40.5  per 
cent.,  or  more  than  two-fifths,  have  been  derived  from  the  United 
Kingdom,  the  majority  of  which  came  from  Ireland,  and  28.3 
per  cent,  from  Germany.  The  United  Kingdom  and  Germany 
together  have  supplied  over  two-thirds  of  the  entire  immigra 
tion  to  the  United  States,  while  the  other  countries  have  sev 
erally  contributed  but  a  trifling  proportion. 

The  character  of  the  immigration  has  changed  greatly  since 
the  beginning.  In  the  late  forties  and  early  fifties  it  was  mainly 
composed  of  Irish.  Later  the  German  element  assumed  promi 
nence;  while  in  recent  years,  mainly  during  the  past  decade, 
other  and  far  less  desirable  elements  have  increased  with  great 
rapidity.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  by  the  table  that  nearly  all  the 
Hungarians,  Italians,  Russians,  and  Poles  have  arrived  since 
1880.  This  unpleasant  picture  is  relieved  to  some  extent  by 
the  immigration  of  Norwegians  and  Swedes,  than  whom  no 
more  desirable  element  has  joined  us ;  but  altogether  the  changes 
wrought  in  the  character  of  the  foreign  influx  during  the  past 
ten  or  fifteen  years  have  tended  to  lower  the  standard  of  Ameri 
can  citizenship,  and  to  make  it  a  serious  question  whether  steps 
should  not  be  taken  to  limit  immigration  henceforth. 

The  diagram  on  page  106  is  interesting  as  showing  by  compan- 


POPULA  TION 


105 


son  the  constituents  of  the  total  immigration  and  the  immigration 
between  1880  and  1890. 

Distribution  of  the  Foreign  Born. — The  maps  on 
Plate  9,  facing  page  106,  portray  the  distribution  of  the  foreign 
born  over  the  country,  expressed  in  the  number  to  a  square  mile 
and  in  percentages  of  the  total  population,  state  by  state.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  home  of  this  element  is  in  the  north  and 
west.  The  foreign  born  have  never  invaded  the  south  to  com 
pete  in  labor  with  the  colored  element.  Indeed,  the  northern 
and  western  states  are  found  to  contain  no  less  than  ninety-six 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  foreign  born  element  of  the  country. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  native  and  foreign 
born,  by  states  and  groups  of  states,  in  1 


NATIVE   AND   FORHIGN    HORN    POPULATION   IX   1890 


STATES  AND 
TKUKITOKIKS 

Native 

Foreign 

STATKS   AND 
TEKKITOKIES 

Wisconsin  
Minnesota 

Native 

Foreign 

The  t'nited  States.. 

North  Atlantic  Division.  . 

Maine  
New  Hampshire  
Vermont  
Massachusetts  
Rhode  Island  
Connecticut  
New  York  
New  Jersey  
Pennsylvania  

South  Atlantic  Division.. 

Delaware.  .  . 
Man-land  
District  of  Columbia. 

West  Virginia  
North  Carolina  
South  Carolina  
(ieortria  
Florida  

North  Central   Division.. 

Ohio  .  . 
Indiana  
Illinois    
Michigan  

53,372,703 
13,513,461 

9,249,547 

3.SS8.0S4 

1.167.681 
834.470 
1  ,587.827 
2.444,315 
101.25S 
237,753 
856.368 
1.279.258 

1  0.651.  OS5 

.799,279 
.747.  iS'.t 
,498.240 
1,281.648 
.068,853 
2.082.567 
59.094 
1,113.915 

2.256.703 

89.063 
45.792 
328.208 
142.334 
40.825 
154.841 
31.055 
66  929 

519.19I) 
467.356 
324.069 
234.  86!  ) 
81,461 

202.'  5  42 

1  47,838 

321.808 

59.356 
20.029 
14.777 
7.952 
49.734 
152.950 
2,740 
1  1.264 

770,910 

43.096 

14.913 
83.990 
11.25'.) 
18.795 
53.064 
1  4.706 
17.456 
90.005 
57.317 
366,309 

Iowa  
Missouri  . 
North  Dakota  
South  Dakota  
Nebraska   
Kansas  

South  Central   Division.  . 

Kentucky  
Tennessee  ... 
Alabama  
Mississippi     
Louisiana  

Oklahoma 

5S2.125        78.961 

304,190          72.341  • 
288,334         44,088 

1.581,806      657,107 

239.201         106.305 
51  J2.  750         1X1  5(  is 
4.426.803:     1.571.050 
1,115,958        328.975 
4,412,294        84.5.720 

8,649.414        208.  5OO 

155.332           13.1(11 
948.094:          94,291) 
211.622           IS.  770 
1,637.606           18,374 
74.3.91  1           18.SK3 
1.614.245,           3.702 
1.144.S79'           (i.27'0 
1.825.235'          12.11S 
368,490          22.932 

18,303.053     4.059.221)' 

Arkansas  
Western  Division  

Montana  
Wvomint:    
Colorado 

New  Mexico  
Ari/ona  
Utah  

Idaho  

3.213.023 
2,046,199 
2,984,892 
1,550,009 

459,293 
146,205 

841,451) 
543,880: 

Washington  
Oregon    

259.385 
256.450 
841.821 

California  

The  next  table  gives  the  proportion  which  these  elements  bore 
to  the  total  population,  bv  states  and  groups  of  states,  in  1.S90: 


106 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


PERCENTAGE    OP    NATIVE    AND    FOREIGN    BORN    TO  TOTAL 
POPULATION,   1890 


STATED  AND  TERRITORIES 

1 

390 

1 

390 

Native 

Foreign 

1  Native 

Foreign 

The  United  States  

85.23 
. 

14.77 

Wisconsin  
Minnesota  

69.22 
64.10 
83  05 

30.78 
35.90 

Missouri  

91.88 

8  77 

77.66 

22.34 

North  Dakota  

55.42 

44.58 

Maine  

88.06 

11.94 

South  Dakota  .  . 

72.31 

27.69 

New  Hampshire  

80.79 
86  74 

19.21 
13  26 

Kansas  

80.87 
89.64 

19.13 
10.36 

Massachusetts.  .  .   
Rhode  Island  

70.65 
69.23 

29.35 
30.77 

South  Central  Division  

97.07 

2.93 

New  York 

70  01 

Kentucky  

96.81 

3.19 

New  Jersey  .         .... 

77  23 

22  77 

Tennessee  

98.87 

1.13 

Pennsylvania 

83  92 

16  08 

Arkansas  

98.74 

1.26 

Oklahoma 

95  57 

4  43 

•          TV      •     • 

Alabama  . 

99  02 

0  98 

2.35 

Mississippi  

9938 

0  62 

Delaware  . 

92.19 

7.81 

Louisiana  

95.55 

4.45 

00  Q-% 

Q  0^ 

Texas  

93.16 

6  84 

District  of  Columbia  
Virginia  

91.85 

98.89 

8.15 
1.11 

Western  Division  

74.54 

25.46 

West  Virginia  

97.52 

99  77 

2.48 
0  23 

Montana  

6739 

32.61 

South  Carolina 

99  46 

0  54 

Wyoming  

75  43 

24  57 

Georgia          ....        

99.34 

0.66 

Colorado  

79.62 

20.38 

Florida 

New  Mexico 

9°  67 

7  33 

North  Central  Division  

81.84 

18.16 

Arizona  
Utah  
Nevada                         

68.48 
74.48 
67  86 

31.52 
25.52 
32  14 

Ohio 

87  49 

12  51 

Idaho  

79  31 

20  69 

Indiana  

93.83 

6.67 

Washington  

74.24 

25.76 

77  99 

22  01 

Oregon  

81  73 

1827 

Michigan 

7403 

2597 

California  ... 

69.68 

30.32 

RUSSIA  &  POLAND 
FRANCE 
ITALY 

AUSTRIAHUNGARY 

NORWAY,  SWEDEN 
&  DENMARK 

GREAT  BRITAIN 
IRELAND 
GERMANY 


CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE 
TOTAL  IMMIGRATION 

AND  OF  THE 

IMMIGRATION   BETWEEN 
1880  AND    1890 


THE   BUILDINfr    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE    9 


NUMBER  OF  FOREIGN   BORN  TO  A  SQUARE   MILE   IN  189D 


PROPORTION  OF  FOREIGN   BORN  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION   IN  1890 


POPULATION 


107 


This  table  shows  also  the  distribution  of  the  foreign  born 
element.  In  the  North  Atlantic  states  nearly  one-fourth  of  the 
inhabitants  are  of  foreign  birth;  the  proportion  ranging  among 
the  states,  individually,  from  11.90  per  cent,  in  Maine  to  30.69 
per  cent,  in  Rhode  Island,  while  Massachusetts  has  29.19  per 
cent,  and  in  Connecticut  and  New  York  about  one-fourth  of 
the  inhabitants  are  of  foreign  birth. 

In  the  North  Central  states  the  proportion  of  the  foreign 
born  is  18.13,  while  in  individual  states  the  range  is  very  wide, 
extending  from  6.06  per  cent,  in  Indiana  to  44.52  per  cent,  in 
North  Dakota.  More  than  a  third  of  the  inhabitants  of  Minnesota 
are  of  foreign  birth,  and  nearly  one-third  of  those  of  Wisconsin, 
while  in  Michigan  and  South  Dakota  more  than  a  fourth  are 
foreign  born. 

In  the  Western  states,  as  a  whole,  the  proportion  of  the  for 
eign  born  is  22.22,  ranging  in  individual  states  from  T.oT  in 
New  Mexico,  to  30.52  in  Montana.  In  manv  of  these  states  the 
proportion  of  foreign  born  is  not  far  from  one-fourth. 

The  South  Atlantic  states,  on  the  other  hand,  contain  an 
average  of  but  2.28  per  cent,  of  foreign  born,  and  the  South  Cen 
tral  states  but  2.90  per  cent.  The  state  having  the  smallest 
proportion  of  inhabitants  of  foreign  birth  is  North  Carolina, 
where  it  is  but  0.23  of  one  per  cent.,  or  about  one  person  in  four 
hundred. 

The  following  table  shows  the  percentage  of  the  whole  foreign 
element  in  each  of  these  rive  groups  of  states,  at  each  census: 

PERCENTAGE   OF    THE    FOREIGN    ELEMENT.    1850-181)0 


CENSUS  YEAK 

North 

Atlantic 
Division 

South 
Atlantic 
Division 

North 

Central 
Division 

South 

Central 
Division 

Western 
Division 

1800 

42  04 

2  25 

43  90 

3    48 

8  33 

1880    

42  13 

2  61 

43  67 

4    10 

7  49 

1870 

45  °8 

3  00 

41   90 

4  19 

5  63 

1860 

48  90 

3  93 

37  29 

5  55 

4  33 

1850  

51)  06 

4  67 

28.98 

6  .  09 

1  20 

It  appears  from  this  table  that  the  Northeastern  and  North 
Central  states  contained  in  1890  not  less  than  85.94  per  cent,  of 


108  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

the  entire  foreign  element,  and  adding  the  Western  states  and 
territories,  96.27  per  cent,  are  accounted  for,  leaving  only  about 
one-twenty-fifth  of  the  entire  foreign  element  for  the  Southern 
states. 

Constituents  of  the  Foreign  Born  Element. — What 
are  the  principal  nativities  composing  this  elemeat  of  the  foreign 
born?  First  and  foremost  are  the  Germans,  numbering  nearly 
three  millions,  or  thirty  per  cent,  of  all.  Next  in  order  are  the 
natives  of  Ireland,  numbering  nearly  two  millions,  and  consti 
tuting  one-fifth  of  the  entire  number.  Then  come  the  British 
with  a  million  and  a,  quarter,  followed  by  the  natives  of  Canada 
and  of  the  Scandinavian  countries,  with  nearly  a  million  each. 
The  British,  Irish,  and  Canadians  together  number  four  and 
one-tenth  millions,  constituting  about  two-fifths  of  the  entire 
element  of  foreign  birth.  These,  with  the  Germans  and  Scan 
dinavians,  constitute  not  less  than  five-sixths  of  the  foreign 
born. 

From  these  imposing  figures  there  is  a  sudden  drop  to 
the  Italians  and  Russians,  each  of  whom  number  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty-two  thousand,  the  Poles  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  thousand,  and  so  on.  The  exact  data  as  to  these  and 
all  other  nationalities  of  importance,  are  set  forth  in  the  follow 
ing  table,  and  graphically  in  the  diagram  on  page  109,  showing 
the  nativities  of  the  foreign  born  population  in  1890. 

FOREIGN   BORN  BY  PRINCIPAL   NATIONALITIES,    1890 

Germany 2,784,894 

Ireland' 1,871,468 

England,  Scotland,  and  Wales 1,251,397 

Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 933,249 

Canada  and  Newfoundland 980,941 

Italy 182,580 

Russia „ 182,645 

Poland  147,440 

Austria 123,271 

Bohemia    118,106 

France 113,174 

Switzerland 104,069 

China 106,462 

Hungary 62,435 


POPULATION 


109 


HUNGARIANS 


SWISS 


FRENCH 


BOHEMIANS 


DANES 


POLES 


ITALIANS 


RUSSIANS 


SWEDES 
NORWEGIANS 


CANADIANS 


BRITISH 


IRISH 


GERMANS 


PRINCIPAL    CONSTITUENTS 

OF    THE 
FOREIGN    BORN    IN    189O 


History  of  the  Several  Elements.— AVhat  has  been 
the  history  of  these  several  nativities  of  the  foreign  element 
in  the  past?  This  is  summarized  in  the  tersest  possible  form 
by  the  following  table,  and  is  also  graphically  presented  in  the 
diagrams,  Plate  10,  facing  page  110.  In  the  table  the  strength  of 
the  delegation  from  each  country  is  represented  by  the  propor 
tion  which  its  numbers  bore  to  the  total  population  at  each 
census  from  1850  to  1890. 

In  the  diagram  the  total  number  of  the  foreign  born  at  each 
census  is  represented  by  the  area  of  the  circle,  while  the  number 
of  each  nationality  is  represented  by  the  various  sectors  into 
which  it  is  divided. 


110 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


PERCENTAGES  OF   TOTAL  POPULATION 


1850 

I860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

1.63 

1.87 

1.99 

1.83 

2  00 

Ireland     

4.15 

5.12 

4.81 

3.70 

3.00 

Germany             

2.52 

4.06 

4.38 

3  92 

4  45 

France      

.23 

.35 

.30 

.21 

18 

Canada  

.64 

.79 

1.28 

1  43 

1  56 

Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 
Italy                     

.08 
.01 

.23 
.03 

.63 
04 

.88 
09 

1.49 
29 

.01 

.01 

.07 

29 

Poland    

.02 

.03 

.10 

23 

Austria 

.08 

08 

08 

20 

Bohemia            

.10 

.17 

19 

Switzerland     

.06 

.17 

.20 

17 

17 

China  

.11 

.17 

.21 

.17 

Hungary  

.10 

In  1850  two-fifths  of  the  entire  foreign  element  was  composed 
of  Irish,  which  far  outnumbered  any  other  nationality  ;  Germany 
was  second  and  Great  Britain  third ;  while  of  the  nationalities  of 
southern  Europe  now  coming  hither  in  considerable  and  rapidly 
increasing  numbers,  there  were  practically  none  at  that  time. 

In  1860,  while  Ireland  still  held  the  lead,  Germany  had  nar 
rowed  the  gap  between  them  considerably ;  the  proportion  of 
British  had  increased  also;  while  generally  those  nations  whose 
contributions  were  small  had  increased  in  numbers,  such  as 
France,  British  America,  and  the  Scandinavian  countries.  At 
this  time  natives  of  Russia,  Poland,  and  Austria  first  appeared ; 
and  the  Italians,  who  in  1850  were  present  in  trifling  numbers, 
had  trebled  proportionally  in  1860. 

In  1870  -the  Irish  still  occupied  the  leading  position,  but 
Germany  had  yet  further  narrowed  the  gap  between  them  ;  the 
British  had  also  gained  slightly,  while  the  Canadians  and  Scan 
dinavians  had  increased  their  numbers  greatly  ;  the  colonists 
from  southern  Europe  had  made  little  progress,  scarcely  more 
than  holding  their  proportion. 

In  1880  the  Germans  and  Irish  had  changed  positions,  the 
Germans  becoming  the  leading  nationality  ;  the  British  had 
slightly  lost  in  proportion  ;  the  Canadians  and  Scandinavians 
had  gained  somewhat;  while  the  Italians,  Russians,  Poles,  and 
Bohemians  had  made  great  proportional  gains, 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 
PLATE  10 

1830 


1840 


1800 


1860 


1870 


Native  White ... 


Colored 

Foreign  Born 


Native  White  of  Foreign  Parents. 
Native  White  of  Native  Parents^ 


ELEMENTS    OF   THE    POPULATION    AT    EACH    CENSUS 


1890 


1860 


1850 


NATIONALITIES  OF  THE   FOREIGN    BORN,  I85O  TO  189O 


POPULATION  HI 

In  1890  the  Germans  head  widened  the  gap  between  their 
proportion  and  that  of  the  Irish,  their  total  being  nearly  fifty 
per  cent,  greater,  while  the  proportion  of  the  Irish  had  greatlv 
declined  from  its  maximum  in  1860  ;  the  British  and  Cana 
dians  had  gained  slightly  ;  while  the  Scandinavians  had  nearly 
doubled  their  proportion,  and  the  Italians,  Poles,  and  Austrians 
had  trebled  their  proportion  to  the  total  population.  In  this 
census  the  Hungarians  appeared  in  small  numbers. 

How  are  the  people  of  these  different  nationalities  distributed 
over  the  country?  The  series  of  maps.  Plates  11,  12,  and  13, 
facing  page  112,  shows  this  distribution  of  the  British,  Germans 
and  Austrians,  Canadians,  Irish,  and  Scandinavians,  expressed 
in  the  form  of  a  proportion  between  their  numbers  and  the  total 
population  of  the  various  states.  It  is  shown  also  in  the  table  on 
page  112,  which  presents  the  proportion  that  the  number  of  eaeh 
of  these  leading  nationalities  bears  to  the  total  number  of  the 
foreign  born  in  each  of  the  northern  and  western  stales,  and  in 
each  group  thereof,  where  the  foreign  born  are  of  numerical 
importance. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Canadians  form 
nearly  two-thirds  of  the  foreign  element  of  Maine  and  Xew 
Hampshire,  more  than  half  that  of  Vermont,  and  nearlv  a  third 
that  of  Massachusetts.  In  Michigan  they  form  a  third  of  the 
foreign  born,  and  more  than  one-fourth  that  of  North  Dakota. 

The  Irish  are  not  so  concentrated.  In  no  state  do  they  con 
stitute  half  the  foreign  element.  The  proportion  is  largest  in 
Connecticut.  In  that  state,  and  also  in  Massachusetts  and  Khode 
Island,  the}'  number  more  than  a  third  of  the  foreign  born,  and 
in  New  York  and  Xew  Jersey  they  approach  one-third. 

The  British  are  still  more  widely  scattered.  In  none  of  the 
northern  states  do  they  constitute  even  one-fourth  of  the  foreign 
element.  Their  highest  proportion  is  in  Khode  Island  and 
Pennsylvania. 

The  Germans  occupy  the  Xorth  Central  states  in  force.  In 
Ohio,  Indiana,  \Visconsin,  and  Missouri,  they  outnumber  oil 
other  elements.  In  Xew  York,  Xew  Jersey,  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Xebraska,  and  Kansas,  they  form  between  one-third  and  one- 
half  of  the  foreign  element, 


112 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


PROPORTION  OF  DIFFERENT    NATIONALITIES  TO  THE  TOTAL 
FOREIGN   POPULATION  IN  1890 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

Canadians 

Irish 

English, 
Scotch, 
and  Welsh 

Germans 
and 
Austrians 

Norwegians. 
Swedes, 
and  Danes 

The  United  States  

10.61 

20.23 

13.52 

33.73 

10.09 

North  Atlantic  Division  . 

12.61 

31.92 

15  88 

25.93 

3.06 

Maine  

65  96 

14  49 

12  39 

1  56 

3  44 

New  Hampshire    .  .  . 
Vermont 

64.04 

56  72 

20.59 
22  25 

9.33 
14  08 

2.50 
2  35 

2.11 
9  19 

Massachusetts 

31  59 

39  55 

15  21 

4  74 

3  45 

Rhode  Island 

26  27 

36  61 

24  54 

3  48 

3  60 

Connecticut    .  .  . 

11  56 

4*  42 

14  82 

16  69 

6  55 

New  York  

5  93 

30  76 

11  96 

35  21 

2  75 

New  Jersey  

1  43 

30  73 

17.64 

37.57 

2  57 

Pennsylvania  

1.44 

28  83 

23.12 

30.92 

2.79 

North  Central  Division  .  . 

9.89 

10.68 

10.55 

42.91 

17.47 

Ohio 

3  60 

15  27 

16  16 

55  37 

92 

Indiana 

3  39 

14  °4 

10  °9 

62  14 

3  78 

Illinois.  .    . 

4  69 

14  78 

11  29 

43  48 

15  31 

Michigan  

33  35 

7  18 

12  55 

31  88 

7  63 

Wisconsin  

6  39 

6  42 

6  44 

54  51 

19  21 

Minnesota 

9  33 

5  99 

4  61 

27  65 

46  05 

Iowa  

5  39 

11  52 

11  58 

43  97 

22  48 

Missouri.  
North  Dakota  
South  Dakota  
Nebraska 

3.63 
28.30 
10.43 
5  98 

17.44 
3.64 
5.24 

7  88 

10.70 
6.41 
8.11 
9  63 

58.09 
12.09 
23.25 

39  88 

3.18 
42.01 
34.45 

22  89 

Kansas    .  .  . 

8  04 

10  74 

17  67 

36  77 

14  90 

Western  Division  

9.79 

13.69 

18.43 

19.64 

12.18 

Montana  . 

20  98 

15  43 

20  39 

16  67 

14  88 

Wyoming  ...»  
Colorado  
New  Mexico  

8.81 
10.89 
6  05 

12.74 
14.71 

8  58 

33.95 
24.80 
16  13 

16.17 
23.15 
15  90 

15.98 
14.53 

2  18 

Arizona  .  . 

3  90 

6  93 

8  09 

7  83 

2  17 

Utah  

2  30 

3  86 

50  46 

7  22 

31  79 

Nevada  

11  30 

17  99 

18  50 

14  57 

4  86 

Idaho  

10  26 

10  98 

°6  07 

15  25 

20  08 

Washington  

19  34 

8  67 

16  71 

20  43 

23  79 

Oregon 

11  27 

8  53 

14  47 

27  44 

12  80 

California  

7.12 

17.24 

12.74 

20.85 

6.11 

The   Scandinavians   are    highly    concentrated,    being    found 
mainly    in    Wisconsin,    Minnesota,    Iowa,    the    Dakotas,    and 


THE  UUILDlXd    or  A    XATIOX 
PLATE    1  1 


PROPORTION   OF  BRITISH  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION   IN  1890 


PROPORTION   OF  GERMANS  AND  AUSTRIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION 

IN  1390 


THE  JtriLDIXCr    OF  A   XATIOX 
PLATE    12 


PROPORTION  OF  CANADIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION 


IN  1830 


PROPORTION  OF  IRISH  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION  IN  1890 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    13 


PROPORTION   OF  SCANDINAVIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION   IN  1890 


PROPORTION    OF   NATIVE    WHITES    OF    NATIVE    PARENTAGE   TO    ALL 

WHITES  IN  1890 


POPULATION 

Nebraska.  The  highest  proportion  is  in  Minnesota,  where 
they  number  not  much  less  than  half  the  total  foreign  ele 
ment. 

From  the  maps  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Canadians  are  found 
mainly  in  northern  New  England,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  and 
North  Dakota,  closely  hugging  the  northern  border.  The  Irish 
are  settled  mainly  in  New  England  and  New  York,  compara 
tively  few  having  wandered  westward.  The  Germans  are 
found  from  New  York  westward,  and  in  the  greatest  boclv  in 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin.  The  Scandinavians  have 
settled  as  far  north  as  they  could  and  yet  remain  within  our 
jurisdiction,  principally  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and  the  Da- 
kotas ;  while  the  British  are  scattered  widely  over  the  northern 
states. 

These  people  are  guided  largely  by  temperature  in  the  selec 
tion  of  their  homes.  Those  from  northern  Europe  and  Canada 
settle  in  the  far  north.  The  Germans,  coming  from  a  more  tem 
perate  climate,  have  settled  mainly  south  of  them,  as  have  also 
the  Irish. 

The  Foreign  Element  ill  Cities. — What  is  the  dis 
tribution  of  the  foreign  element  as  between  urban  and  rural  life? 
Generally  speaking,  the  foreign  population  flocks  to  the  cities 
in  far  greater  proportion  than  the  native  born.  In  1890  the 
twenty-eight  largest  cities  of  the  country  contained  a  population 
of  about  9,700,000.  or  nearly  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  population 
of  the  country.  The  foreign  born  element  of  these  cities  com 
prised  a  little  over  3,000,000,  or  almost  exactly  one-third  of  the 
total  foreign  born  of  the  country.  Putting  it  in  another  way. 
nearly  one-third  of  the  population  of  these  cities  is  foreign  born, 
while  in  the  country  at  large  oniv  about  one-sixth  of  it  is  foreign 
born.  These  cities  contain,  therefore,  double  their  quota  of  the 
foreign  born  element. 

Thus  much  concerning  the  foreign  element  of  our  cities,  col 
lectively.  When  analyzed,  it  presents  results  even  more  inter 
esting.  Not  only  are  the  foreign  born  as  a  class  found  in  the 
large  cities  in  undue  proportion,  but  there  is  no  contributing 
nationality  of  which  this  is  not  true.  Every  nationality  repre 
sented  contributes  an  undue  proportion  of  its  numbers  to  swell 
8 


114  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

our  great  cities.  While  but  14  per  cent,  of  the  native  element 
of  the  country  is  found  in  these  great  cities,  the  Canadians  con 
tribute  16  per  cent,  of  their  number,  the  Norwegians,  Swedes, 
and  Danes  18  per  cent,,  the  British  24  per  cent,  the  Germans 
89  per  cent,  the  Irish  42  per  cent,  the  Bohemians  46  per  cent, 
the  Poles  49  per  cent,  and  the  Italians  and  Russians  each  51  per 
cent.  Thus  more  than  half  the  whole  number  of  the  two  last- 
named  nationalities  found  in  the  country  are  congregated  in 
these  twenty-eight  cities. 

Hence  it  appears  that  the  most  objectionable  elements  of  the 
foreign-born  population  have  flocked  in  the  greatest  proportion 
to  our  large  cities,  where  they  are  in  a  position  to  do  the  most 
harm  by  corruption  and  violence. 

In  New  York  city  alone  are  found  190,000  Irish,  one-tenth  of 
all  in  the  United  States;  and  210,000  Germans,  one-thirteenth 
of  all  in  the  United  States.  It  contains  one-fifth  of  all  the  Rus 
sians  and  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  Italians  in  the  country. 
Over  one-fourth  of  the  total  population  of  the  metropolis  is  made 
up  of  persons  born  in  Ireland  or  Germany. 

In  Chicago  there  are  160,000  Germans,  constituting  nearly 
one-sixth  of  the  population  of  that  city.  It  contains  one-sixth 
of  all  the  Poles  and  more  than  one-fifth  of  all  the  Bohemians 
of  the  country.  One-sixth  of  the  population  of  Boston  is  com 
posed  of  Irish,  and  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  population  of 
Milwaukee  is  of  German  birth. 

Occupations  of  the  Foreign  Born.— As  to  occupa 
tions,  it  may  be  stated  broadly  that  the  foreign  born  element  is 
engaged  in  avocations  lower  in  character  than  those  of  the 
native  element,  principally  in  such  as  involve  skilled  and 
unskilled  labor ;  whereas  the  proportion  in  the  learned  profes 
sions  is  much  less  relative  to  their  numbers  than  is  the  case  with 
the  native  element  While  in  1880  the  foreign  born  constituted 
about  one-seventh  of  the  population,  it  was  found  that  of  law 
yers,  clergymen,  physicians,  and  teachers,  there  were  about 
eleven  native  born  to  one  foreign  born ;  on  the  other  hand, 
among  servants  there  was  one  foreign  born  to  a  little  more  than 
three  native  born.  Among  unskilled  laborers,  the  foreign  born 
were  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  two  native  born ;  while  of 


POPULA  TIO^T 

skilled  laborers,  such  as  blacksmiths,  shoemakers,  and  carpenters, 
the  proportion  was  also  as  one  to  two,  and  foreign  born  miners 
exceeded  in  total  number  the  native  born. 

Illiteracy  of  the  Foreign  Born. — This  flood  of  immi 
gration  has  produced  other  results  upon  the  population  beyond 
the  mere  additions  to  our  numbers  and  the  admixture  of  blood. 
It  has  lowered  the  average  intelligence  and  morality  of  the  com 
munity.  The  illiterate  of  the  northern  states  are  mainly  foreign 
born,  the  proportion  of  illiterates  among  them  being  four  times 
as  great  as  among  the  natives.  Again,  the  criminals  of  foreign 
birth  in  the  northern  states  are  double  their  due  proportion,  as 
compared  with  the  native  born. 

Effect  of  Immigration  upon  Natural  Increase.- 
Another  result  of  importance  has  been  produced.  It  is  a  well- 
known  law  of  population,  that  in  a  broad,  general  way,  as  the 
population  increases  the  rate  of  increase  diminishes.  This  is  an 
application  of  the  Malthusian  doctrine.  Xo\v,  it  matters  not  in 
the  least  how  this  density  of  population  is  brought  about, 
whether  by  natural  increase  or  by  immigration,  the  result  is  the 
same — the  country  is  filled  with  people,  they  become  more  or 
less  crowded,  and  the  rate  of  natural  increase  is  reduced 
thereby. 

The  United  States  is  composed  of  two  sections,  the  north  and 
the  south,  which  are  sharply  distinguished  from  one  another  in 
this  regard.  While  the  one  of  them  has,  throughout  its  history, 
depended  upon  natural  increase  for  its  increment  of  population, 
the  other  has  had  enormous  accessions  from  abroad.  What  has 
been  the  history  of  the  native  element  in  these  two  sections,  as 
contrasted  with  one  another? 

This  question  is  one  of  interest  and  importance.  In  order  to 
answer  it  intelligently  and  conclusively,  and  also  for  the  pur 
pose  of  ascertaining  approximately  the  effect  of  immigration 
upon  our  rate  of  increase  in  population,  a  comparison  is  made, 
in  the  diagram  on  paire  116,  between  the  rates  of  increase  of 
the  native  and  white  elements  of  the  northern  and  southern 
states  respectively,  for  each  decade,  the  upright  bars  at  the 
bottom  of  the  diagram  showing  the  immigration  from  1830  to 

c  o  o 


116 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


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IMMIGRATION 


RATES  OF   INCREASE   OF   ALL    WHITES 

AND    OF    THE 

NATIVE    ELEMENT   OF   THE    NORTH 

AND    OF 

ALL   WHITES  OF  THE  SOUTH 


POPULATION  117 

The  southern  states — including  in  that  designation  all  of  the 
states  east  of  the  plains  and  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line, 
the  Ohio  river,  and  the  southern  boundary  of  Missouri  and 
Kansas — have  received  practically  no  immigration.  The  states 
north  of  this  line  and  east  of  the  plains  contain  86  per  cent,  of 
the  foreign  element,  the  remainder  being  mainly  in  the  states  and 
territories  of  the  far  west. 

The  rates  of  increase  of  the  whites  of  the  southern  states, 
which  are  not  complicated  by  immigration,  are  represented  by 
the  dotted  line  of  the  diagram;  and,  while  exhibiting  some  oscil 
lations,  they  show  a  general  but  not  a  great  diminution  from  the 
beginning  of  our  history  to  the  end.  Between  1790  and  1840 
the  white  population  of  these  states  increased  239  per  cent,  In 
other  words,  the  population  of  1840  was  3.39  times  that  of  1790. 
In  the  succeeding  fifty  years  the  population  of  these  states 
increased  204  per  cent.;  that  is,  their  population  in  1890  was 
3.04  times  as  great  as  in  1S40,  the  rate  having  thus  diminished 
by  only  35  per  cent.  On  the  other  hand,  how  is  it  with  the 
northern  states? 

In  the  first  fifty  years,  during  which  there  was  practically  no 
immigration,  the  rate  of  increase  in  each  decade  was  considerably 
greater  than  in  the  southern  states,  and  altogether  during  this 
half  century  the  white  population  of  these  northern  states 
increased  389  per  cent.;  that  is,  in  18-40  the  population  was 
4.89  times  as  great  as  in  1790.  Between  1840  and  1890,  after 
separating  from  the  white  population  of  these  states  the  immi 
grants  and  their  natural  increase,  and  thus  leaving  only  the 
native  element,  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  latter  is  seen  to 
diminish  remarkably.  Instead  of  ranging  from  34  up  to  41  per 
cent,  as  it  did  in  the  first  half  century,  the  rates  of  increase  Lv 
decades  become  23,  20,  15,  16,  and  10;  while  the  rate  of  increase 
for  this  entire  half  century  was  but  112  per  cent.,  the  population 
in  1890  being  but  2.12  times  as  great  as  that  of  1840.  This 
sudden  and  astonishingly  rapid  reduction  of  the  rate  in  the 
north,  taking  place  at  the  same  time  with  the  appearance  of  the 
flood  of  immigration,  can  be  attributed  to  no  other  cause. 

The  rate  of  increase  of  the  north  is  shown  by  the  full  line ;  the 
broken  line — which  commences  at  1840  and  runs  up  to  1890 — 


118  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

being  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  native  element  alone,  while  the 
full  line,  continuing  on  to  1890,  represents  the  rate  of  increase 
of  the  entire  population  of  the  north,  including  the  foreign 
element. 

Hence  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  the  rate  of  our  natural 
increase  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  the  flood  of  immigration. 
By  allowing  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  Europe  to  find  homes  in 
this  country,  we  have  substituted  them  for  our  own  flesh  and 
blood.  If  there  had  been  no  immigration,  the  rate  of  natural 
increase  which  prevailed  before  immigration  commenced  would 
have  been  much  more  nearly  maintained,  and  our  numbers 
would  be  almost  as  great  as  at  present.  The  sudden  and  rapid 
reduction  of  our  rate  of  natural  increase  at  the  north  during  the 
past  forty  years  is  surely  due  to  this  flood  of  immigration,  and 
it  is  a  question  whether  we  have  gained  by  the  wholesale  substi 
tution  of  a  mixture  of  European  for  American  blood. 

Another  result  has  been  produced  by  immigration  which  is 
not  so  apparent,  but  is  of  great  and  far-reaching  importance 
in  connection  with  this  question.  As  has  already  been  stated, 
the  immigration  consists,  as  a  rule,  of  the  lower  classes,  mainly 
of  skilled  and  unskilled  labor;  and  these  millions  of  mechan 
ics  and  laborers  have  filled  and  practically  monopolized  the 
lower  classes  of  avocations  at  the  north.  In  this  way  they 
forced  the  native  American  element  into  the  higher  walks  of 
life.  The  head-work  of  the  country  is  in  the  hands  of  Ameri 
cans  almost  as  fully  as  it  was  half  a  century  ago.  Our  industrial 
enterprises  of  all  sorts  are  under  the  management  of  Americans, 
and  the  hewing  of  wood  and  drawing  of  water  have  been  assumed 
by  the  immigrant  The  fact  that  the  native  is  still  the  ruling 
element,  probably  accounts  for  the  other  fact  that  the  foreign 
element,  in  spite  of  its  great  numerical  importance,  has  thus  far 
exercised  but  little  influence  upon  our  political,  industrial,  and 
social  life. 

Foreign  Parentage. — The  effects  of  immigration  upon 
our  population  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the  foreign  born. 
Although  to  some  extent  Americanized,  the  children  of  the 
Irish,  Germans,  and  Scandinavians  retain  many  of  their  parents' 
characteristics ;  measurably  they  are  Irish,  Germans,  and  Scan- 


POPULA  TION 

dinavians  still.  It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  observe  to  what 
extent  oar  population  is  composed,  not  only  of  the  foreign  born, 
but  of  the  children  of  the  foreign  born. 

In  1870  statistics  were  obtained  for  the  first  time  concerning 
the  nativity  of  parents,  and  the  results  were  tabulated  and  pub 
lished,  and  in  1890  similar  data  were  obtained.  In  1870  the 
number  of  persons  of  foreign  parentage,  including  those  of  for 
eign  birth,  was  11,892,015.  The  number  of  inhabitants  of 
native  extraction  at  this  time  was,  therefore,  20,660,356,  and  the 
number  of  whites  of  native  extraction,  21,766,347.  In  1890  the 
number  of  persons  whose  parents  were  foreign  born,  was  20,263,- 
902.  The  native  born  of  native  parents  numbered  42,358,348, 
and  of  these  the  whites  numbered  34,720.060.  In  1870  the 
foreign  born,  added  to  those  of  native  birth  but  foreign  par 
entage,  comprised  practicallv  all  of  the  foreign  blood  in  the 
country.  Only  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  years  had  elapsed 
since  immigration  upon  a  considerable  scale  had  commenced, 
and  it  is  not  at  all  probable  that  there  were  in  the  country  any 
appreciable  number  of  persons  of  foreign  extraction  in  the 
second  generation.  Nearly  all  the  remainder  of  the  population 
had  been  here  for  a  series  of  generations,  so  long  as  to  have 
become  distinctively  American.  Therefore,  we  mav  treat  that 
element  of  our  population  which  in  1870  was  of  foreign  parent 
age,  as  comprising  the  entire  element  of  foreign  extraction. 

In  1890,  forty-two  or  forty-three  years  after  immigration 
began,  the  conditions  were  measurably  changed.  There  were  at 
that  time,  undoubtedly,  a  considerable  number — probably  quite 
5,000,000 — of  persons  of  foreign  extraction  in  the  second  gen 
eration. 

In  1870  this  element  of  foreign  extraction  comprised  31  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  population,  and  in  1890  the  same  element 
comprised  32  percent.  The  element  of  native  extraction  in  1870 
comprised  09  per  cent,  and  in  1890,  08  per  cent.  The  whites  of 
native  extraction  comprised,  both  in  1870  and  1890.50  percent, 
of  the  entire  population,  or  considerably  more  than  one-half. 

The  distribution  of  the  native  born  of  native  parentage,  is 
illustrated  in  the  lower  map  on  Plate  13,  facing  page  112,  and 
in  the  table  on  page  120.  In  the  northern  states  east  of  the 


120 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


plains,  45  per  cent,  or  nearly  one-half  of  the  inhabitants,  are 
either  foreign  born  or  the  children  of  foreigners.  In  Massachu 
setts  they  aggregate  56  per  cent. ;  in  Khode  Island,  58  percent. ; 
in  Connecticut,  50  per  cent. ;  in  New  York,  56  per  cent. ;  and  in 
New  Jersey,  48  per  cent.;  but  the  heaviest  proportion  is  found 
in  the  northwestern  states.  In  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  three- 
fourths  of  the  people  are  either  foreign  born  or  the  children  of 
foreign  born,  and  in  the  new  state  of  North  Dakota  four-fifths 
of  the  people  are  of  immediate  foreign  extraction ;  only  one- 
fifth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  state  are  of  American  stock. 
The  constituents  of  the  population  of  states  in  1890  are  shown 
graphically  by  the  diagram,  Plate  14. 

PROPORTION   OF  WHITE    POPULATION    OF  NATIVE    AND 
FOREIGN   PARENTAGE 


STATES  AND  TERRI 
TORIES 

1890 

STATES  AND  TERRI 
TORIES 

1H90 

Native 
Whites 
of  Native 
Parents 

Having 
one  or 
both 
Parents 
Foreign 

Native 
Whites 
of  Native 
Parents 

Having 
one  or 
both 
Parents 
Foreign 

The  United  States  .  .  . 

North  Atlantic  Division  .  . 
Maine  

Per  cent. 
62.49 

Per  cent. 
37.51 

Wisconsin 

Per  cent. 
25.86 
23.99 
55.97 
73.42 
20.55 
38.87 
56.76 
72.09 

88.97 

Per  cent. 
74.14 
76.01 
44.03 
26.58 
79.45 
61.13 
43.24 
27.91 

11.03 

Minnesota 

51.93 

48.07 

Iowa  

Missouri  

North  Dakota  
South  Dakota  
Nebraska  .... 

76.86 
67.48 
67.96 
43.13 
40.71 
48.71 
42.55 
49.89 
62.90 

90.62 

23.14 
32.52 
32.04 
56.87 
59.29 
51.29 
57.45 
50.11 
37.10 

9.38 

New  Hampshire  
Vermont  

Kansas  
South  Central  Division.  .  . 

Kentucky  
Tennessee 

Massachusetts  
Rhode  Island  

New  York  
New  Jersey  .... 

88.46 
96.02 
95.53 
95.50 
73.98 
80.69 
87.64 
95.38 

51.83 

11.54 
3.98 
4.47 
4.50 
26.02 
19.31 
12.36 
4.62 

48.17 

Pennsylvania  
South  Atlantic  Division.. 

Delaware  
Maryland 

Alabama  
Mississippi 

Louisiana  

78.07 
69.73 
69.37 
95.75 
91.80 
98.97 
96.36 
96.77 
84.91 

55.91 

21.93 
30.27 
30.63 
4.25 
8.20 
1.03 
3.64 
3.23 
15.09 

44.09 

Oklahoma  

District  of  Columbia.  .  . 
Virginia 

Western  Division  
Montana 

West  Virginia  
North  Carolina  
South  Carolina  
Georgia  .... 

43.99 
51.16 
59.87 
83.60 
43.34 
£3.25 
37.83 
55.35 
54.49 
67.59 
44.77 

56.01 
48.84 
40.13 
16.40 
56.66 
66.75 
62.17 
44.65 
45.51 
32.41 
55.23 

Wyomiifg  

Florida  
North  Central  Division.. 
Ohio  

New  Mexico  
Arizona           

Utah  

65.12 
79.10 
49.96 
44.27' 

34.88 
20  90 
50.04 
55.73 

Indiana  .  . 

Washington 

Illinois  

Michigan  

California 

THE  BUILDING    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE    14 


PERCENTAGES  OF  TOTAL  POPULATION 
20         30         40         50          60         70         80 
NORTH  DAKOTA 
MINNESOTA 
WISCONSIN 

NEVADA 

UTAH 

LOUISIANA 

SOUTH  CAROLINA 
SOUTH  DAKOTA 
RHODE    ISLAND 
MISSISSIPPI.... 

ARIZONA 

CALIFORNIA 
NEW  YORK_ 

MONTANA 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

MICHIGAN 

DISTRICTOF  COLUMBIA.... 

CONNECTICUT 

NEW    JERSEY. 

FLORIDA... 

ILLINOIS 

WYOMING 

GEORGIA 

ALABAMA 

WASHINGTON 

IDAHO... 

MARYLAND.. 

IOWA 

NEBRASKA   . 

COLORADO 

VIRGINIA 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

TEXAS... 

OHIO 

NORTH  CAROLINA.. 

DELAWARE 

OREGON 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

VERMONT 

ARKANSAS 

MISSOURI 

KANSAS 

TENNESSEE 

KENTUCKY 

MAINE 

INDIANA 

NEW   MEXICO 

OKLAHOMA 

WEST   VIRGINIA 

Natiue  White  of  Native  Parents I  I  Foreign  White [ 

Native  White  of  Foreign  Parents ••••  Total  Colored, 

CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  POPULATION   OF  THE  STATES  IN  1890 


POPULATION 


121 


In  our  great  cities  the  situation  is  even  more  startling,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  diagram  on  Plate  15,  facing  page  122,  and  in  the 
following  table,  which  gives  the  percentage  of  native,  foreign, 
and  colored,  to  the  total  population. 

CONSTITUENTS   OF   THE    POPULATION    OF  THE   GREAT  CITIES 


Native  of 
CITIKS                                     Native 
Parents 

Native  of 
Foreign 
Parents 

Foreign 

Colored 

Alilwaukee                                -      -          13 

48 

30 

o 

New  York             18 

38 

42 

2 

Chicago  21 

50 

23 

0 

Detroit                                                         21 

38 

40 

1 

San  Francisco            .                              21 

27 

42 

10 

Buffalo  22 

43 

35 

0 

St.  Paul   23 

30 

40 

1 

Cleveland                                                    24 

38 

1 

Jersey  City              .                                 25 

40 

33 

2 

St.  Louis  .    .          20 

42 

20 

0 

Cincinnati   .  2? 
Brooklyn  27 

45 
41 

24 

32 

4 
0 

Pittslnir"-     ...                                           2!) 

37 

31 

3 

Boston  .                  30 

33 

35 

2 

Rochester  30 
New  Orleans  30 

40 
30 

30 
14 

0 
26 

Newark  31 
Minneapolis    3-5 
Alley-hen  v  :!('> 

37 
30 
36 

30 
3  1 
25 

2 
0 
3 

Providence                                                 37 

30 

3)0 

3 

Louisville       .  .                                             3!) 

29 

15 

27 

Philadelphia  -40 
Baltimore1  43 
Washington  i         47 
Omaha.  4!) 
Denver  51 

21 
26 
12 
23 
21 

35 
16 
8 
25 
24 

4 
15 
33 
3 
4 

Indianapolis                      .                         54 

23 

14 

9 

Kansas  City  55 

19 

15 

11 

Thus,  in  Boston  the  native  element  constitutes  but  30  per 
cent,  ;  in  Brooklyn,  28  per  cent. ;  in  Buffalo,  22  per  cent.  ;  while 
New  York,  with  only  18  per  cent,  is  practically  a  foreign  city 
so  far  as  its  population  is  concerned.  Chicago  contains  a  native 
element  of  but  20  per  cent.,  and  Detroit  of  but  21  percent.; 
while  among  the  great  cities  Milwaukee  stands  at  the  head  (or 
foot),  with  a  native  element  of  but  13  per  cent.  The  most 
extreme  case,  however,  appears  to  be  that  of  the  little  city  of 
Ishpeming,  in  the  heart  of  the  iron  region  of  Michigan,  u  city 


122 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


of  some  11,000  people,  of  which  only  6  per  cent,  are  native 
born  of  native  parents ;  the  remainder,  94  per  cent,  being  foreign 
born  or  the  children  of  foreign  born. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion  in  which  the  ele 
ment  of  foreign  birth  of  the  great  cities  is  made  up  as  regards 
nationality,  the  total  foreign  element  of  each  city  being  re 
garded  as  constituting  100  per  cent. : 

PROPORTION    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    ELEMENTS    OF    FOREIGN 
BIRTH    TO    THE    TOTAL    FOREIGN    BORN,    IN    CITIES 


CITIES 

Germany 

Ireland 

England, 
Scotland, 
and  Wales 

-Sll 
3fc| 

*ll 

Norway, 
Sweden,  and 
Denmark 

-C 

a 

cS 
1 

i 
1 

Bohemia 

>t 

1 

% 

69 

% 

17 

5 

% 

i 

a 

% 

% 

% 

% 

1 

69 

4 

4 

2 

3 

12 

2 

Louisville 

60 

22 

5 

2 

1 

1 

Baltimore                     

59 

19 

6 

1 

1 

1 

2 

St  Louis 

57 

21 

7 

2 

1 

1 

2 

Indianapolis  
Allegheny 

54 
51 

24 
21 

9 
17 

3 
1 

2 

'2 

Buffalo               

48 

13 

10 

12 

1 

10 

i 

2 

48 

24 

13 

1 

1 

2 

5 

44 

16 

15 

15 

1 

1 

3 

1 

Detroit                                    

43 

9 

12 

23 

7 

1 

1 

Cleveland 

41 

14 

15 

5 

1 

3 

2 

11 

1 

Brooklyn             

36 

32 

13 

2 

6 

1 

1 

4 

36 

16 

9 

5 

16 

5 

2 

6 

1 

Pittsburg                       

34 

29 

20 

1 

1 

4 

3 

3 

New  Orleans 

33 

23 

6 

1 

1 

11 

New  York      .                         

33 

30 

8 

1 

1 

1 

8 

1 

6 

St  Paul                                      

31 

11 

7 

9 

32 

2 

1 

2 

1 

31 

38 

15 

4 

1 

1 

2 

Jersey  City 

30 

42 

14 

2 

2 

2 

1 

3 

Kansas  City 

29 

22 

15 

8 

11 

1 

3 

3 

Philadelphia  
Omaha  

28 
24 

41 
12 

18 
10 

1 
6 

1 
32 

'2 

3 
2 

8 

3 
2 

Denver 

21 

17 

20 

10 

17 

2 

2 

San  Francisco  

21 

24 

11 

3 

5 

1 

4 

Minneapolis                             

13 

6 

6 

13 

56 

1 

2 

1 

Boston 

45 

12 

24 

3 

1 

3 

3 

Providence  .                           

4 

49 

25 

11 

4 

2 

4 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
foreign  element  of  Cincinnati  and  Milwaukee  are  Germans.  In 
Cincinnati  one-sixth  are  Irish;  the  Germans  forming  the 
majority  of  the  foreign  element,  not  only  in  these  two  cities, 
but  also  in  Louisville,  Baltimore,  St.  Louis,  Indianapolis,  and 
Allegheny.  The  German  is  the  leading  foreign  element  in  nine 
teen  out  of  these  twenty-eight  cities,  and  stands  second  in  seven 
more.  Thus  in  twenty-six  out  of  the  twenty-eight  cities  em- 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    15 


10 


PERCENTAGES  OF  TOTAL  POPULATION 
20          30          40          50          60          70         80         90 


100 


MILWAUKEE 

NEW  YORK 

CHICAGO 

DETROIT 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

BUFFALO 

ST.  PAUL. 

CLEVELAND 

JERSEY  CITY... 

ST.  LOUIS 

CINCINNATI 

BROOKLYN ... 

PITTSBURG 

BOSTON 

ROCHESTER 

NEW   ORLEANS      . 
NEWARK... 

MINNEAPOLIS 

ALLEGHENY 

PROVIDENCE 

LOUISVILLE. 

PHILADELPHIA 

BALTIMORE 

WASHINGTON 

OMAHA 

DENVER 

INDIANAPOLIS 

KANSAS  CITY... 


Native  of  Native  Parents I  I      Foreign I 

Native  of  Foreign  Parents JHHHHI      Colored ••• 

CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE   POPULATION  OF  THE 
GREAT  CITIES  IN  1890 


Ml* 

i    c 


POPULATION  123 

braced  in  this  table,  the  Germans  are  either  the  best  or  the 
next  best  represented. 

The  Irish  form  a  plurality  in  six  cities  only,  but  stand  second 
in  fifteen.  The  Scandinavians — including  the  Norwegians, 
Swedes,  and  Danes — are  more  numerous  than  any  other  foreign 
nationality'  in  the  cities  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  and  Omaha, 
and  stand  second  in  this  regard  in  Denver.  The  Italians  are 
somewhat  prominent  in  New  Orleans,  being  exceeded  in  num 
bers  only  by  the  Germans  and  Irish.  Many  other  interesting 
features  are  brought  out  in  this  table,  especially  concerning  the 
habitat  of  the  people  from  the  south  of  Europe. 

Summary. — The  attempt  has  been  made  to  sum  up,  in  the 
diagram  on  Plate  16,  facing  page  124,  many  of  the  facts  con 
cerning  the  population.  This  consists  in  an  effort  to  show  the 
growth  of  each  element  of  the  population  for  a  century,  with  its 
status  at  the  end  of  the  century. 

The  breadth  of  the  diagram  opposite  the  ye;irs  is  proportional 
to  the  population  at  that  date,  and  the  breadth  of  the  various 
subdivisions  is  proportional  to  the  numbers  of  the  three1  ele 
ments — colored,  native,  and  foreign.  The  immigration  of  each 
decade  is  indicated  bv  the  additions  between  the  dates.  The 
separation  between  the  elements  of  native  and  foreign  blood  is, 
of  course,  only  an  approximation.  A  tentative  separation  was 
made,  under  the  assumption  that  the  rate  of  natural  increase  of 
the  foreign  element  was  equal  to  that  of  the  native  element. 
Under  this  assumption  the  separation  was  carried  forward  to 
1870,  where,  as  explained  above,  a  definite  separation  was  made 
bv  the  census  enumeration.  This  gave  a  correction  which 
showed  that  the  natural  increase  of  the  foreign  element  had 
been  more  rapid  than  that  of  the  native  element.  Accordingly 
the  earlier  results  were  corrected,  and  the  rates  of  increase  of 
the  foreign  and  of  the  native  elements,  thus  deduced,  were  pro 
jected  forward  to  1890.  The  diagram  at  the  bottom  shows 
the  present  status  of  the  population  as  regards  colored,  native, 
and  foreign  blood,  classifying  the  last  by  the  leading  nationali 
ties. 

From  this  showing  it  appears  that  the  present  composition  of 
the  population  is  somewhat  as  follows: 


124  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATION,  1890 

Colored 7,500,000 

White  of  native  extraction 30,000,000 

White  of  foreign  extraction 25,000,000 

The  principal  elements  of  the  latter  are: 

German 6,800,000 

Irish 6,500.000 

British 4,000,000 

Canadians 1 ,600,000 

Swedes  and  Norwegians 1,000,000 

Hungarians 500,000 

Italians . 500,000 


Total 20,900,000 

The  remainder  of  the  25,000,000  is  distributed  among  various 
nationalities  in  small  numbers.  The  white  element  of  native 
extraction  is  apparently  in  the  minority  to-day  in  this  country, 
being  exceeded  in  number  by  the  sum  of  the  foreign  element 
and  the  colored.  British  blood,  however,  is  still  largely,  in  the 
ascendant ;  for  by  adding  to  the  native  element  the  4,000,000  of 
British  and  6,500,000  of  Irish,  we  get  40,500,000,  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  entire  population,  and  three-fourths  of  the  entire 
white  population  of  the  country. 

POTENTIAL   VOTERS 

The  number  of  potential  voters — that  is,  males  above  the  age 
of  twenty -one— was,  in  1890,  16,940,311 ;  in  1880  the  number 
was  12,830,349.  The  increase  during  the  ten  years  intervening 
was  at  the  rate  of  32.03  per  cent,  which  was  far  in  excess  of 
that  of  population ;  as  in  the  case  of  the  militia,  this  was  doubt 
less  due  to  the  excessive  immigration  of  the  decade,  which 
consisted  in  large  proportion  of  adult  males.  The  potential 
voters  formed,  in  1890,  27.05  per  cent,  of  the  population.  In 
1880  the  same  class  constituted  25.58  percent.,  showing  a  nota 
ble  increase  in  the  proportion. 

Of  the  potential  voting  strength  of  the  nation,  12,591,852,  or 
74.33  per  cent,  were  native  born,  and  4,348,459,  or  25.67  per 
cent,  were  foreign  born.  The  corresponding  figures  regarding 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 
PLATE    16 


1  790 


1.800 


_1 8.1 0 


1820 


1890 


POPULATION   AT  EACH   CENSUS  CLASSIFIED 
BY   RACE  AND   NATIVITY 


POPULATION  125 

the  total  population,  are  85.23  native  born  and  14.77  foreign 
born.  This  brings  out  forcibly  the  great  disproportion  which 
the  voting  strength  of  the  foreign  element  bears  to  the  total  of 
that  element. 

Of  the  total  number,  10,957,496,  or  64.68  per  cent,  were 
native  whites,  and  1,740,455,  or  only  10.27  per  cent,  were  col 
ored.  The  native  whites  of  native  parents,  or,  as  nearly  as 
may  be,  the  whites  of  native  extraction,  constitute  but  52  per 
cent,  of  the  voting  strength  of  the  nation,  nearly  one-half 
of  the  possible  voters  being  either  foreign  born,  native  born  of 
foreign  parents,  or  colored.  Like  the  corresponding  element  of 
the  total  population,  the  strength  of  the  native  element  is  in  the 
south,  while  in  the  northwest  it  is  in  many  states  outnumbered, 
and  in  a  few  states  greatlv  outnumbered,  by  the  element  of 
foreign  extraction.  Thus,  in  North  Dakota  the  white  voters  of 
native  extraction  form  but  21.20  per  cent,  of  the  total  possible 
voters.  In  Minnesota  the  corresponding  proportion  is  23.06 
per  cent ;  in  Wisconsin,  22.24  per  cent.  In  each  of  these  cases 
more  than  three-fourths  of  the  voting  strength  of  the  state  is  of 
foreign  extraction.  The  following  table  shows  the  proportion 
of  the  potential  voting  strength  contained  in  each  division  of  the 
United  States,  contrasted  with  the  corresponding  proportion  of 
the  total  population : 

PROPORTION  OF  POTENTIAL  VOTERS  AND  OF  TOTAL 
POPULATION 


Percentage  of 
Voters 

Percentage  of 
Population 

Northeast  division 

29  85 

27  79 

Southeast  division                          

11.89 

14  14 

North  Central  division   

36  .  <>2 

35.71 

South  Central  division       

14.83 

17.52 

Western  division 

6  81 

4.84 

As  in  the  case  of  the  potential  militia,  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
the  northern  and  western  groups  of  states,  the  potential  voting 
strength  is  disproportionately  large  as  compared  with  the  total 
population,  while  the  reverse  is  true  as  to  the  southern  groups. 


126 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


ALIENS 

The  number  of  adult  males  of  foreign  birth  in  1890  was 
4,348,459.  Of  this  number  2,546,037,  or  58.55  per  cent,  have 
been  naturalized,  and  236,069,  or  5.43  per  cent.,  have  taken  out 
first  papers.  Thus  it  appears  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  pos 
sible  voters  among  our  foreign  born,  have  either  acquired  citi 
zenship  or  have  taken  the  preliminary  steps  toward  that  end ; 
1,160,214,  or  26.68  per  cent.,  are  returned  as  aliens;  while  the 
remainder,  constituting  9.34  per  cent.,  furnish  no  information 
regarding  citizenship. 


PROPORTION  OF  ALIENS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION  IN  1890 

The  distribution  of  the  aliens  is  a  matter  of  much  interest. 
It  is  illustrated  on  the  above  map.  Since  the  foreign  born 
element  is  of  slight  importance  in  the  Southern  states,  the 
question  of  its  citizenship  is  of  still  less  interest  and  may  there 
fore  be  dropped  from  discussion  ;  it  is  in  the  Northern  and 
Western  states  onlv  that  the  foreign  element  is  of  importance. 
In  the  North  Atlantic  division  more  than  a  third  of  the  foreign 


POPULATION  J27 

born  males  of  voting  age — to  be  exact,  34.43  per  cent. — are 
aliens  ;  in  Maine  the  proportion  is  no  less  than  44.51  per  cent. ; 
in  New  Hampshire,  50.05  per  cent.  ;  in  Rhode  Island,  49,78  per 
cent.  This  large  proportion  in  the  New  England  states  is 
probably  due  in  great  measure  to  the  irruption  of  the  French- 
Canadians,  most  of  whom  have  come  over  the  border  as  an  alien 
people  with  no  intention  of  forming  a  part  of  our  body  politic. 
The  proportion  of  aliens  in  the  North  Central  division  is,  on  the 
other  hand,  comparatively  small,  being  but  18.78  per  cent. 
The  largest  proportion  among  these  states  is  in  North  Dakota, 
where  it  is  2(3.53  per  cent,  ;  while  in  Minnesota  it  is  1(185 
per  cent.,  and  in  Wisconsin  15.49  per  cent.  Those,  it  will  be 
remembered,  are  the  three  states  in  which  the  foreign  born 
element  and  the  element  of  foreign  extraction  are  greatest. 

The  proportion  of  aliens  in  the  western  division  is  32.09  per 
cent.  It  is  greatest  in  Arizona,  whore  it  is  48.17  per  cent.,  and 
least  in  Colorado,  where  it  is  but  23.89  per  cent.  In  Utah, 
whore  the  element  of  foreign  extraction  constitutes  two-thirds 
of  the  population,  the  proportion  of  the  foreign  born  males  of 
voting  age  who  are  aliens  is  but  25.51  per  cent. 


[LLITERAOY 

For  the  statistics  of  illiteracy  we  are  dependent  upon  the 
census,  and  unfortunately,  those  are  among  the  last  statistics 
to  be  compiled  from  the  schedules.  Thus,  while  most  of  the 
other  matter  has  boon  digested  and  is  before  the  public,  the  sta 
tistics  of  illiteracy  for  1890  are  not  yet  available,  and  we  are 
thrown  back  upon  those  for  1880.  With  these  figures,  coupled 
with  our  information  concerning  the  movement  of  population 
and  of  social  conditions,  it  is  possible  to  form  a  very  close 
estimate  of  the  condition  and  distribution  of  illiteracy  at  the 
present  time. 

Wo  know  that  in  the  ten  years  that  have  elapsed  the  school 
system  of  the  Southern  states  has  been  greatly  improved,  both 
for  whites  and  blacks,  and  that  the  enrollment  and  attendance 
have  increased:  hence  it  may  safely  be  inferred  that  through- 


128  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

out  the  south  the  proportion  of  illiteracy,  both  of  white  and 
colored,  has  been  reduced,  and  probably  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent.  In  the  north,  on  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  expect  to  find 
any  favorable  change.  The  schools  ot  the  north  have  improved, 
but  the  enrollment  and  attendance  have  diminished,  and  con 
sequently  we  may  look  for  an  increase  in  the  proportion  of 
illiterates  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  explain  that  this  condition  of  things  in  the  north  is  due  to 
the  unprecedented  immigration  of  the  last  decade,  which  has 
brought  not  only  large  numbers  of  foreigners,  but  foreigners  of 
a  lower  class  in  all  respects  than  ever  before.  It  is  probable 
that  the  net  result  of  all  these  factors  upon  the  illiteracy  of  the 
country,  will  show  but  trifling  change  as  a  whole. 

With  this  preface  let  us  see  what  the  statistics  of  the  tenth 
census  had  to  show  regarding  the  illiteracy  of  the  population. 
The  census  asks  two  questions  on  this  subject :  "  Can  he  read  ?  " 
and  "  Can  he  write  ?  "  Either  of  these  is  a  sufficient  test  of 
elementary  education,  and  so  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  give  the 
answers  to  both.  Let  us  therefore  consider  only  the  second 
of  these  interrogatories  :  "  Can  he  write  ?  " 

In  1880  75  per  cent,  of  the  population  were  of  the  age  of  ten 
years  and  upward.  Taking  the  country  at  large,  including  all 
sections,  all  races  and  all  nativities,  17  per  cent,  or  very  nearly 
one-sixth,  of  those  of  the  age  of  ten  and  over  were  unable  to 
write.  Of  the  whites,  only  9.4  per  cent,  were  unable  to  write ; 
and  dividing  the  number  into  those  of  native  and  of  foreign 
birth,  the  proportions  of  those  unable  to  write  were  respectively 
8.7  and  12  per  cent.  Of  the  colored  element,  not  less  than  70 
per  cent,  were  unable  to  fashion  letters.  As  regards  sex,  there 
appears  to  have  been  slightly  more  illiteracy  among  females  than 
among  males,  particularly  with  the  colored  race. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  illiteracy  differs  widely  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  especially  when  the  results  are 
analyzed  by  race  and  nativity.  The  maps  on  Plates  17  and  18 
show  the  geographical  distribution  of  illiteracy  among  the  total 
population,  the  native  whites,  the  colored,  and  the  foreign  born. 
In  the  south  generally,  not  only  among  the  colored  people  but 
among  the  whites  also,  the  proportion  of  illiteracy  was  high, 


THE  BU II  .DING   OF  A    NATION 
PLATE    17 


PROPORTION    OF   PERSONS  WHO  CAN  NOT  WRITE, TO  POPULATION, 
TEN   YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  OVER  IN  1880 


PROPORTION    OF    NATIVE  WHITES  WHO    CANNOT  WRITE, TO    ALL 
NATIVE  WHITES  OFTEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  OVER  IN  1880 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    18 


PROPORTION    OF   COLORED    PERSONS    WHO    CANNOT   WRITE, TO 
ALL  COLORED  TEN   YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  OVER   IN  1880 


PROPORTION    OF    FOREIGN    BORN    WHO    CANNOT  WRITE, TO    ALL 
FOREIGN   BORN  TEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  OVER  IN  1880 


POPULATION  129 

doubtless  owing  in  great  part  to  the  absence  of  public  schools  in 
that  section  except  during  the  fifteen  years  preceding  the  tenth 
census.  In  the  South  Atlantic  and  South  Central  states,  taken 
as  a  whole,  the  proportion  of  those  unable  to  write  was  40  per 
cent. ;  of  colored  it  was  75  per  cent,  and  of  whites  20.8  per 
cent. 

In  the  North  Atlantic  and  Northern  Central  states  there  was 
but  little  illiteracy  among  the  native  born,  the  proportion  to  the 
inhabitants  of  ten  years  of  age  and  over  being  but  4  per  cent. ; 
while  among  the  foreign  born  it  was  more  than  three  times  as 
great,  being  12J  per  cent.  Thus,  the  illiterate  element  of  the 
north  in  1880  was  the  foreign  born  element,  as  it  doubtless  is  at 
present. 

Illiteracy  is  not,  however,  uniformly  distributed  among  the 
foreign  born,  being  much  greater  at  the  east  than  at  the  west. 
In  the  North  Central  states  the  proportions  of  illiteracy  among 
the  native  whites,  and  among  the  foreign  born,  were  respectively 
4.9  and  8.S  per  cent,  while  in  the  northeastern  states  the  like 
proportions  were  2.S  and  15.4  per  cent.,  respectively. 

In  New  England  the  proportions  were  still  more  sharply  con 
trasted.  Of  the  native  whites,  only  1.3  per  cent,  were  unable  to 
write,  while  of  the  foreign  born  no  less  than  21.4  per  cent  were 
deficient  in  this  regard.  It  is  probable  that  the  greater  propor 
tion  of  ignorance  among  the  foreign  born  of  the  eastern  than  of 
the  western  states,  was  due  partly  to  the  difference  in  the  nativi 
ties  represented  in  these  two  sections  of  the  country.  In  the 
northeastern  states  there  were  many  French-Canadians,  who  are 
not  only  ignorant,  but  refuse  to  avail  themselves  of  the  facilities 
for  education  afforded  by  the  public  schools.  In  these  states 
are  found  also  the  great  majority  of  the  Irish  immigrants,  who  are 
measurably  in  a  similar  condition.  Moreover,  the  poor  and  less 
enterprising  of  the  immigrants,  those  who  are  content  to  remain 
where  they  are  dropped  upon  our  shores,  or  who,  lacking  the 
means  to  reach  the  interior,  remained  in  the  seaboard  cities, 
have  thus  increased  the  proportion  of  illiterates  of  the  eastern 
states. 
9 


130  THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


EDUCATION 

Public  Schools. — Even  as  long  ago  as  colonial  times,  the 
New  England  colonies  recognized  the  need  of  education  as  an 
essential  to  good  citizenship,  and  provided  the  means  of  acquir 
ing  it  at  public  cost.  The  system  of  public  schools  which  orig 
inated  in  New  England,  was  carried  by  her  sons  wherever  they 
migrated.  Thus  the  system  grew  up  with  the  Northern  Central 
and  Western  states.  In  the  Southern  states,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  public  school  system,  now  universal,  is  of  comparatively 
recent  introduction.  Before  the  civil  war,  there  were  few  public 
schools  in  the  south,  the  system  having  been  developed  in  those 
states  since  that  struggle. 

The  public  schools  are  supported  mainly  by  direct  taxation, 
which  in  many  states  is  laid  for  that  express  purpose.  More 
over,  in  most  of  the  states  there  are  school  funds,  derived  from 
various  sources,  the  income  from  which  is  thus  applied.  One 
prominent  source  of  these  funds  consists  of  the  public  lands 
donated  by  the  general  government  to  the  states  in  aid  of  educa 
tion.  In  each  of  the  states  in  which  public  lands  existed,  the 
United  States  has  thus  given  the  sixteenth,  and  in  most  of  them 
also  the  thirty-sixth  section  of  each  township  for  this  purpose, 
and  from  the  sale  of  these  lands  large  funds  have  been  created. 

Besides  the  public  school  system,  now  in  full  operation  in 
every  state  and  territory,  certain  religious  organizations,  partic 
ularly  the  Lutheran  and  Catholic  churches,  maintain  separate 
schools,  and,  furthermore,  there  are  large  numbers  of  private 
schools,  which,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  are  well  supported. 

The  public  school  system  embraces,  in  all  cities,  high  schools 
which  carry  forward  the  education  of  the  young  to  the  point  of 
fitting  them  to  enter  colleges  and  professional  schools. 

Throughout  the  south  separate  schools  are  maintained  for  the 
white  and  colored  races. 

Enrollment. — The  total  number  of  children  enrolled  in 
schools,  in  1890,  was  14,219,571.  The  total  number  of  children 
of  school  age,  which  is  arbitrarily  assumed  at  from  five  to  seven- 


POPULATION 

teen  years  inclusive,  was  18,543,200,  or  nearly  30  per  cent,  of  the 
population.  The  school  enrollment  was  75  per  cent,  of  the 
children  of  school  age.  The  attendance  at  school  was  about 
two-thirds  of  the  enrollment.  Therefore  it  appears  that  about 
one-half  of  the  total  number  of  children  of  school  age  attended 
school. 

Of  the  total  number  of  children  enrolled  in  all  schools,  12,728,- 
417,  or  about  nine-tenths  of  the  whole,  were  enrolled  in  the 
public  schools  ;  753,972  were  enrolled  in  private  schools,  and 
737.182  in  parochial  schools. 

The  upper  map  on  Plate  19,  facing  page  132,  shows  the  pro 
portion,  by  states,  which  the  enrollment  in  schools  of  all  kinds 
bears  to  the  number  of  children  of  school  age.  It  shows  that 
the  highest  proportion  of  enrollment  is  at  the  north,  and  the 
lowest  at  the  south,  as  was  to  have  been  expected.  In  Kansas, 
Iowa,  Maine,  and  Vermont  more  than  nine-tenths  of  all  children 
of  school  age  are  enrolled  in  the  schools.  The  banner  state  in 
this  regard  is  Kansas,  which  enrolls  not  less  than  94  per  cent, 
of  her  children,  while  Maine  and  Iowa  each  enroll  93  per  cent. 

The  converse  of  this  picture  is  seen  at  the  south.  Arkansas 
enrolls  but  58  per  cent,  of  her  children,  and  South  Carolina  but 
52  per  cent,  while  of  all  the  states  Louisiana  stands  at  the  foot, 
with  but  40  per  cent.  Strangely  enough  the  purely  rural  state 
of  Mississippi,  with  an  immense  colored  population,  enrolls  not 
less  than  79  percent,  of  her  children,  or  nearly  double  the  pro 
portion  of  the  adjoining  state  of  Louisiana. 

Expenditure. — In  the  public  schools  the  total  number  of 
teachers,  in  1890,  was  363,935;  of  these  a  little  more  than  one- 
third  were  males,  and  a  little  less  than  two-thirds  females.  The 
total  expenditure  on  account  of  the  public  schools  was  $140, 277,- 
484,  being  at  the  average  rate  of  §17  for  each  pupil  in  average 
attendance.  The  lower  map  on  Plate  19,  facing  page  132,  shows 
the  average  amount  expended  per  pupil  enrolled,  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 

The  amount  thus  expended  in  the  several  states  ranged  from 
about  $2  in  Alabama  to  §25  in  Colorado.  Throughout  the 
south  generally  the  amount  expended  was  small,  the  highest 
expenditure  in  any  state  being  §7  per  capita,  in  Texas. 


132  THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 

Of  all  the  Northern  states  Maine  expends  the  least  per  pupil 
enrolled,  the  amount  being  only  $7.  In  the  upper  Mississippi 
valley  and  in  the  lake  states  the  amount  ranges  from  $10  to 
$14.  Generally  speaking,  the  rate  of  expenditure  in  the  western 
states  is  very  high,  exceeding  $20  per  capita  in  Montana, 
Wyoming,  Colorado,  Nevada,  and  California.  The  only 
eastern  state  in  which  the  rate  exceeded  $20,  was  Massachu 
setts. 

A  comparison  of  the  statistics  of  enrollment  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  country  in  1890,  with  similar  figures  for  1880,  is 
highly  suggestive  of  the  ill  effects  of  immigration  upon  the  com 
munity.  While  in  the  ten  years  between  1880  and  1890  the 
whole  number  of  children  enrolled  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
country,  as  a  whole,  increased  more  rapidly  than  the  population,  it 
appears,  when  these  figures  are  analyzed,  that  this  increase  has 
been  effected  almost  entirely  in  the  Southern  states ;  while  in  the 
northern  states  east  of  the  Great  Plains,  with  the  single  excep 
tion  of  Rhode  Island,  the  increase  of  enrollment  has  not  been  as 
great  as  that  of  population.  In  every  northern  state  east  of  the 
plains,  with  this  one  exception,  fewer  children  are  now  enrolled 
in  the  public  schools,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  than  ten 
years  ago.  This  situation  is  developed  by  the  first  map  on  Plate 
19.  Considering  the  advanced  position  of  the  northern  states  in 
matters  relating  to  the  education  of  the  young,  this  result  can  be 
attributed  to  no  other  cause  than  the  swarm  of  foreign  ignorance 
let  loose  upon  us. 

The  following  is  a  summary  statement  of  the  colleges  and 
professional  schools  throughout  the  country,  and  the  attendance 
thereat : 

COLLEGES  AND  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS,  AND  ATTENDANCE 


Institutions. 

Students. 

Colleges                           .                    ...             . 

415 

118  581 

Colleges  for  women     ..                  .... 

179 

24  851 

Theological  schools  

145 

7  053 

54 

4518 

117 

15,484 

THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    19 


PROPORTION    OF    ENROLLMENT    IN    ALL   SCHOOLS, TO  CHILDREN 
OF  SCHOOL  AGE   IN    1890 


EXPENDITURE     IN   DOLLARS,   PER  CAPITA.OF  CHILDREN    ENROLLED 
IN   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS   IN  189O 


POPULATION  133 


OCCUPATIONS 

For  our  conceptions  of  the  occupations  of  the  people  we  are 
dependent,  as  in  the  case  of  illiteracy,  upon  the  statistics  of  the 
tenth  census,  which  portrayed  the  situation  as  it  existed  in  1880. 
It  is  modified  by  certain  considerations  of  which  we  are  able 
to  take  cognizance,  such  as  the  character  and  extent  of  the 
immigration,  and  the  known  course  of  development  in  certain 
branches  of  industry. 

Let  us  first  look  at  the  situation  as  it  existed  in  1880.  The 
census  takes  account  only  of  those  occupations  which  can  be 
classified  as  gainful  ;  i.  e.,  those  at  which  men  and  women  labor 
for  a  pecuniary  reward.  The  occupations  of  housewives,  of 
children  attending  school,  etc.,  do  not  come  into  this  catesrorv. 

In  1880,  out  of  a  population  of  50,000,000,  17,400,000  persons 
were  engaged  in  gainful  occupations.  This  was  34.8  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  number;  in  other  words,  a  little  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  entire  population  were  breadwinners.  Classifying 
these  breadwinners  by  sex,  it  will  be  seen  that  about 85  percent, 
were  males  and  15  per  cent,  females. 

The  census  separates  occupations  into  four  great  general 
classes,  according  to  the  character  of  the  industries: 

First,  Those  which  relate  to  agriculture,  including  farmers, 
planters,  cattle  raisers,  nurserymen,  farm  laborers,  etc. 

Second,  Professional  and  Personal  Services,  which  includes 
all  persons  performing  personal  services  of  whatever  grade  or 
degree,  from  the  highest  professional  character  down  to  that  of 
domestic  servants  and  bootblacks.  Were  the  two  classes,  pro 
fessional  and  personal,  separated  one  from  another,  the  classes 
would  have  a  definite  meaning. 

Third,  Trade  and  Transportation.  Here  again  are  two  classes 
which  should  be  distinguished.  Merchants  and  dealers,  with  their 
clerks,  salesmen,  etc.,  can  be  easily  separated  from  the  employes  of 
the  agencies  of  transportation,  such  as  railroads,  water  craft,  etc. 

Fourth,  Manufactures  and  Mining.  This  is  a  sufficiently  dis 
tinctive  group,  although  it  includes  not  only  skilled  workmen 
but  unskilled  laborers. 


134 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


This  classification  tells  very  little  concerning  the  number  of 
breadwinners  in  the  various  stations  of  life,  since  each  group 
includes  persons  in  all  stations,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  It 
is  a  classification  based  upon  product  rather  than  upon  occupation. 

The  following  little  table  shows  the  proportion  which  each 
one  of  these  classes  bears  to  the  total  number  of  breadwinners : 

DISTRIBUTION  OP  BREADWINNERS  BY  CLASSES 

Agriculture 44  per  cent. 

Professional  and  personal  services 24    "      " 

Trade  and  transportation 10    "      " 

Manufactures 22    "      " 

The  proportion  of  persons  engaged  in  agriculture  is  constantly 
diminishing,  while  that  of  the  other  three  classes  is  as  con 
stantly  increasing,  and  it  is  probable  that  within  a  generation 
the  proportion  of  those  engaged  in  manufactures  and  mining 
will  become  the  ruling  class.  The  following  table  shows  by 
states,  and  groups  of  states,  the  proportion  which  those  engaged 
in  gainful  occupations  bear  to  the  total  population,  and  the 
proportion  which  the  number  of  workers  in  each  of  these  four 
classes  bear  to  the  total  number  of  workers  in  each  state.  The 
maps  on  Plate  20  show  the  distribution  of  those  engaged  in 
agriculture,  and  in  manufacturing  and  mining,  expressed  in 
terms  of  the  proportions  which  their  numbers  bear  to  the  total 
number  of  wage-earners. 

PROPORTION  OF  THE  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  ENGAGED  IN  EACH  CLASS  OF  OCCUPATIONS 


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THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   20 


PROPORTION    OF  PERSONS    ENGAGED    IN    AGRICULTURE  TO    ALL 
WAGE  EARNERS  IN  1880 


PROPORTION  OF  PERSONS    ENGAGED    IN    M  AN  U  FACTU  Rl  NG  AN  D 
MINING  TO  ALL  WAGE  EARNERS   IN  1880 


POPULATION 


135 


PROPORTION   OF  THE  NUMBER    OF    PERSONS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  ENGAGED  IN  EACH  CLASS  OF  OCCUPATIONS— Continued 


STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 


, 


Connecticut !  39 

Dakota ,  43 

Delaware ;  37 

District   of  Columbia 38 

Honda 34 

(Jeor^'ia 39 

Idaho 4$ 

Illinois 32 

Indiana 32 

Iowa 

Kansas 32 

Kentucky 32 

Louisiana 39 

Maine   30 

Maryland    35 

Massachusetts 40 

Michigan 35 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 37 

Missouri 32 

Montana. 57 

Nebraska 34 

Nevada 52 

New  Hampshire 41 

New  Jersey 35 

New  Mexico 34 

New  York  37 

North  Carolina 34 

Ohio 31 

Oregon 39 

Pennsylvania   34 

Rhode  Island 42 

South  Carolina 39 

Tennessee 29 

Texas 33 

Utah 28 

Vermont 36 

Virginia 33 

Washington 40 

West  Virginia 28 

Wisconsin 32 

Wyoming 43 


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136  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

Taking  the  country  over,  the  average  proportion  oi%  those 
engaged  in  gainful  occupations  to  the  total  population,  as 
stated  above,  in  1880,  was  34.8  per  cent.  In  all  the  North 
Atlantic  states,  with  the  exception  of  Pennsylvania,  this  pro 
portion  was  exceeded;  and  in  southern  New  England  it  was 
greatly  exceeded,  being  in  Rhode  Island  not  less  than  42  per 
cent.,  in  New  Hampshire  41  per  cent.,  and  in  Massachusetts 
40  per  cent.  The  excessive  proportion  of  persons  engaged 
in  gainful  occupations  in  these  states  is  doubtless  due  in  the 
main  to  the  great  extension  of  the  factory  system,  employing 
female  labor,  as  is  further  shown  by  the  statistics  of  occupa 
tions  distributed  by  sex.  In  the  North  Central  states  the  pro 
portion  of  persons  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  was  below 
the  average  in  nearly  every  case,  being  exceeded  only  in  the 
the'n  territory  of  Dakota.  The  Southern  states  showed  great 
diversity  in  this  respect.  The  Virginias,  North  Carolina, 
Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  Florida  had  less 
than  the  average  proportion  of  persons  with  occupations, 
while  in  the  other  states  the  average  was  exceeded.  The  excess 
in  the  cotton  states  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  col 
ored  population,  men,  women,  and  children,  work  in  the  fields. 
In  the  Western  states,  with  the  exception  of  Idaho  and  New 
Mexico,  the  proportion  of  persons  with  occupations  ranged  very 
high  in  1880,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  then  in  an  unsettled 
social  condition,  the  proportion  of  adult  males  being  great. 

The  distribution  of  the  classes  of  occupations  over  the  country, 
accords  with  the  relative  prevalence  of  the  different  industries 
suggested  by  these  occupations.  Of  all  persons  in  the  country 
reported  as  having  gainful  occupations,  44  per  cent,  were  engaged 
in  agriculture.  In  all  the  states  lying  south  of  the  Potomac  and 
Ohio  rivers,  and  west,  to  the  western  boundary  of  Texas,  those 
engaged  in  agriculture  constituted  more  than  half  of  all  those 
having  occupations.  This  was  true  also  among  the  Northern 
Central  states  of  Indiana,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  and 
Nebraska,  which  are  the  agricultural  states  par  excellence  of  the 
Northern  Central  section.  In  some  of  the  Southern  states,  mainly 
those  of  the  cotton  belt,  the  proportion  ranged  very  high.  Thus 
in  Arkansas  83  per  cent,  of  the  persons  occupied  were  engaged 


POPULA  TION  137 

in  agriculture ;  in  Mississippi,  82  per  cent. ;  in  Alabama,  77  per 
cent. ;  in  the  Carolinas,  75  per  cent.  ;  and  in  Georgia,  72  per 
cent.  The  other  extreme  was  reached  in  New  England,  where 
in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  but  9  per  cent,  were  engaged 
in  agriculture;  in  New  Jersey,  15  per  cent.  ;  in  Connecticut  18 
per  cent,  ;  in  New  York,  20  per  cent. ;  and  in  Pennsylvania,  21 
per  cent.  In  the  far  west  the  proportion  engaged  in  agriculture 
is  generally  low,  owing  mainly  to  the  prevalence  of  mining. 
Thus  in  Colorado  and  Nevada  but  13  per  cent,  were  engaged  in 
agriculture ;  in  Arizona,  15  per  cent.  ;  in  Wyoming.  19  per  cent. : 
in  Montana,  20  per  cent.  ;  and  in  California,  21  per  cent. 

The  obverse  of  this  picture  is  presented  bv  the  statistics  of 
those  engaged  in  manufacturing,  mechanical,  and  mining  occupa 
tions.  In  this  class  of  occupations  the  Southern  states  are  verv 
feebly  represented;  in  Mississippi  but  3  per  cent,  were  so 
engaged,  and  in  Arkansas  but  4  percent.;  in  South  Carolina, 
Alabama,  and  Texas,  but  5  per  cent.  ;  in  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  only  7  per  cent.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island  more  than  half  the  population  were  engaged 
in  this  class  of  avocations,  and  very  nearly  half  in  Connecticut. 
In  New  Hampshire  41  percent,  were  so  engaged ;  in  New  Jersey, 
40  per  cent. ;  and  in  Pennsylvania,  36  per  cent.  Passing  west 
ward,  we  rind  that  Ohio  had  gained  rapidly  as  a  manufacturing 
state,  one-fourth  of  the  population  being  occupied  in  these  avo 
cations.  Indiana  was  less  advanced,  having  but  17  per  cent., 
and  was  exceeded  on  the  north  by  Michigan  with  23  per  cent., 
and  on  the  west  by  Illinois  with  20  per  cent.  The  states  of  the 
plains  had  smaller  proportions:  Kansas,  11  per  cent.  ;  Nebraska, 
12  per  cent.  ;  and  Dakota,  16  per  cent.  In  the  states  and  terri 
tories  of  the  far  west,  in  which  mining  was  prominent  in  1880, 
the  proportion  engaged  in  this  class  of  avocations  was  high,  Colo 
rado  showing  47  per  cent.,  Nevada  and  Idaho  each  41  per  cent., 
and  Montana  36  per  cent.  At  that  time  the  average  of  the  entire 
conn  try  showed  22  per  cent,  engaged  in  this  group  of  occupations. 

The  following  table  gives,  for  the  whole  United  States,  the 
proportion  which  the  breadwinners  of  each  principal  nationality 
bore,  in  1880,  to  the  total  number  of  that  nationality  living  in 
the  country  : 


138 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


PROPORTION    OF    BREADWINNERS    OF   EACH    NATIONALITY 

United  States 32  per  cent. 

Ireland 53    " 

Germany 53    " 

Great  Britain 51    " 

Norway  and  Sweden 54    " 

Canada 49    " 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  proportion  of  breadwinners 
among  the  foreign  born  was  far  greater  than  among  the  native 
born.  This  prominent  fact  is  due  to  several  causes.  In  the 
first  place,  the  immigration  consists  in  large  proportion  of  adult 
males,  a  fact  which  in  itself  is  sufficient  to  account  for  this 
difference.  Moreover,  the  greater  part  of  the  immigration  comes 
from  countries  in  which  women  as  well  as  men  play  a  consider 
able  part  as  breadwinners,  especially  among  the  lower  classes 
from  which  the  immigration  is  largely  drawn. 

The  following  table  shows  the  proportion  in  which  the  bread 
winners  of  different  nationalities  are  distributed  among  the 
great  groups  of  occupations  above  described  : 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  BREADWINNERS   BY  OCCUPATIONS 


Agriculture 

Professional 
and 
Personal 

Trade  and 
Transporta 
tion 

Manufactures 
and 
Mining 

United  States 

50 

22 

10 

18 

Ireland  .                 

14 

43 

14 

29 

Germany    

28 

21 

15 

36 

Great  Britain  

22 

17 

12 

49 

Norway  and  Sweden 

45 

25 

8 

22 

Canada 

21 

26 

9 

44 

This  table  brings  out  in  strong  relief  certain  facts  regarding 
the  occupations  of  different  nationalities.  The  farming  class 
is  mostly  recruited  from  the  native  born,  one-half  of  these 
being  engaged  in  that  group  of  occupations.  No  other  nation 
ality  approaches  it  in  this  regard,  excepting  Norwegians  and 
Swedes,  of  whom  45  per  cent,  pursue  agricultural  callings. 
Next  are  the  Germans  with  28  per  cent.,  and  least  of  all  the 
Irish  with  only  14  per  cent.  In  personal  and  professional  ser 
vices  the  Irish  come  first,  43  per  cent,  being  engaged  in  this 


POPULATION 


139 


great  mixed  group  of  occupations,  while  our  native  citizens 
stand  very  low,  and  the  natives  of  Great  Britain  lowest  of  all. 
In  manufactures  and  mining  the  natives  stand  lowest,  only  18 
per  cent,  of  their  number  being  engaged  in  this  group  of  avoca 
tions,  while  the  British  stand  at  the  head  with  fully  one-half 
their  number,  followed  by  the  Canadians  with  44  per  cent. 

Let  us  now  examine  into  the  distribution  of  the  native  and 
foreign  elements  that  compose  our  mixed  body  politic,  with 
reference  to  certain  selected  occupations  which  are  indicative  of 
stations  in  life.  In  the  following  table  these  selected  occupations 
are  arranged  in  order,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  the 

(^  C_> 

figures  opposite  them  express  by  percentages  the  proportion 
which  the  number  of  wage-earners  in  each  occupation  bears  to 
the  total  number  of  wage-earners  among  the  native  born,  and 
the  foreign  born : 

RATIO    OF    NATIVE    AND    FOREIGN    HORN    WAGE    EARNERS 
TO    TOTAL    POPULATION,    I'.V    CLASSES 


Native  Born 

Foreign  Born 

Clergymen   physicians  lawyers 

1  5 

0  7 

Teachers  

1  5 

0  4 

Fanners  

20  0 

17.6 

Traders 

2  5 

4  0 

Clerks,  accountants,  and  salesmen  
Iron  and  steel  workers.  .  .      

2.7 
0  5 

1.9 
1.2 

Miners 

0  8 

3  6 

Textile  operatives 

1  :> 

8  7 

Domestic  servants  

5.9 

7.  8 

Farm  laborers 

22.0 

4  (> 

Laborers      .  . 

9  6 

14.9 

From  this  table  it  is  at  once  apparent  that,  as  a  rule,  the 
native  born  occupv  stations  higher  in  life  than  the  foreign  born. 
Thus  the  proportion  of  clergymen,  physicians,  and  lawyers 
among  the  native  born  is  double  that  among  the  foreign  born  ; 
of  teachers,  it  is  nearly  four  times  as  great ;  of  farmers,  it  is  50 
per  cent,  greater  ;  of  traders,  it  is,  however,  considerably  less. 
Of  clerks,  accountants,  and  salesmen  the  proportion  is  greater, 
while  of  skilled  workers  it  is  less  than  one-half ;  of  miners,  less 
than  one-fourth  ;  and  of  textile  operatives,  a  little  more  than  one- 


140  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

third.  The  proportion  of  native  born  domestic  servants  and  of 
laborers  is  much  smaller;  while  of  farm  laborers  it  is,  on  the 
other  band,  many  times  as  great,  owing  to  the  indisposition  of 
the  foreign  born  to  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits,  a  matter  that 
has  been  treated  more  fully  elsewhere. 

Occupations  of  Immigrants. — All  of  the  foregoing 
figures  and  conclusions  relate  to  the  status  of  the  population  as 
it  existed  in  1880.  Since  that  time  we  have  the  statistics  of 
immigration  during  the  decade,  an  immigration  which  numbered 
5,250,000.  These  immigrants  have  been  classified  by  the  Bureau 
of  Statistics  according  to  occupations,  and  the  results  supple 
ment  those  of  the  census  of  1880  and  indicate  very  clearly  what 
we  may  expect  to  learn  when  the  statistics  of  occupations  from 
the  eleventh  census  become  available.  Of  the  total  number  of 
immigrants,  2,246,000,  or  about  43  per  cent.,  were  wage-earners. 
This  proportion  is  somewhat  less  than  that  of  the  foreign 
element  in  the  country  in  1880.  The  immigrants  having  no 
occupations  probably  consisted  almost  entirely  of  women  and 
children  under  fifteen  years  of  age.  These  two  classes  comprise 
just  about  one-half  of  the  total  number  of  immigrants.  Of  those 
reported  as  having  gainful  occupations,  the  following  propor 
tions  are  found,  3  per  cent,  being  unknown  : 

OCCUPATIONS    OF    IMMIGRANTS    CLASSIFIED 

Professional  occupations 1  per  cent. 

Traders  and  dealers 3    "      " 

Farmers 14    "      " 

Household  servants 9    "      " 

Skilled  labor 20    "      " 

Unskilled.labor 50    "      " 

So  far  as  this  classification  conforms  to  that  in  the  last  table, 
derived  from  the  tenth  census,  it  shows  a  great  increase  in  the 
lower  classes  of  occupations,  especially  in  that  of  unskilled  labor. 
The  proportion  of  traders  and  dealers,  and  of  farmers,  has  dimin 
ished,  while  that  of  household  servants  and  of  common  laborers 
has  greatly  increased. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  has  published  a  classification  of 
occupations  of  immigrants  from  1820  to  1890,  and  it  will  be 
instructive  to  analyze  the  tables — especially  since  1840,  when 


POPULA  TEOX 


immigration  began  on  a  considerable  scale — to  determine 
whether,  as  is  commonly  asserted,  the  quality  of  the  immigra 
tion,  as  indicated  by  occupations,  has  deteriorated  in  recent 
years.  The  following  table  shows  by  decades  the  proportion 
which  the  number  of  immigrants,  in  each  of  four  characteristic 
classes,  bears  to  the  total  number  of  immigrants: 

RATIO   OF  IMMIGRANTS  EXGAGED  IX  CERTAIN  CLASSES  OF 
LABOR   TO   TOTAL   IMMIGRANTS 


Professional 

Skilled 

Fanners 

Laborers 

1840-50  

0  4 

1  0 

14  0 

15  8 

1850-60  .  . 

0  8 

0  <) 

15  9 

°0  8 

1860-70  

0  G 

1  3 

9  5 

00  () 

1870-80  

0  8 

1  2 

9  3 

17  9 

1880-90 

0  5 

1  0 

7  0 

05  4 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  professional  class,  though 
always  very  small,  increased  up  to  1880,  but  that  in  the  last 
decade  it  has  diminished  decidedly  ;  that  skilled  labor  increased 
somewhat  up  to  1870,  and  since  then  has  been  diminishing; 
that  since  1860  the  farming  class  have  diminished  steadily  and 
rapidly,  and  now  constitute  less  than  half  the  proportion  they 
did  between  1850  and  1860;  that  the  class  of  unskilled  labor 
ers  increased  up  to  1870,  diminished  between  1870  and  1880, 
and  in  the  last  decade  has  increased  very  greatly  and  consti 
tuted  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  total  immigration  than 
ever  before,  exceeding  one-fourth  of  the  whole  number  of  im 
migrants. 

On  the  whole,  this  table  certainly  indicates,  so  far  as  occupa 
tions  go,  a  decided  deterioration  in  quality,  especially  during  the 
last  ten  years,  and  fully  substantiates  the  popular  idea. 

Changes  in  Occupations.— Owing  to  the  rapid  substitu 
tion  of  machinery  for  human  labor  and  skill  in  manufacturing, 
a  radical  change  has  taken  place  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century  in  the  character  of  the  occupations  of  the  manufacturing 
classes.  Within  the  recollection  of  most  persons  now  living, 
things  were  made  by  skilled  workmen — blacksmiths,  wheel 
wrights,  cabinet  makers,  tailors,  etc.  At  present,  however,  the 


142  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

skilled  trades  are  but  feebly  represented,  and  will  soon  be  obso 
lete.  In  their  place  has  sprung  up  a  vast  army  of  machine 
tenders,  whose  function  is  simply  to  feed  the  machines  and  see 
that  they  do  their  work  properly.  The  same  machine,  under 
the  same  superintendence,  may  make  a  great  variety  of  articles. 

Thus  the  occupations  of  labor,  instead  of  becoming  more  com 
plex,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  are  in  fact  becoming  greatly 
simplified.  Labor,  instead  of  being  differentiated,  is  becoming 
homogeneous. 

Science,  in  its  application  to  the  industrial  arts,  is  constantly 
bearing  fruit  in  the  form  of  new  machines  to  supplant  human 
skill  and  manual  labor.  Yet  the  demand  for  labor  is  greater 
than  ever,  if  we  may  judge  by  a  comparison  of  the  past  and  pres 
ent  rates  of  wages.  This  would  be  a  paradox  were  the  demand 
for  manufactured  articles  to  remain  constant ;  but  with  the  intro 
duction  of  machinery  comes  a  cheapening  of  the  product,  and 
with  the  cheapening  of  the  product  comes  in  turn  an  increased 
demand,  as  the  community  rises  to  a  higher  scale  of  comfort  and 
luxury,  and  thus  the  demand  keeps  pace  with  the  supply. 

\Vages. — The  condition  of  the  laboring  classes  in  the  United 
States  is  greatly  superior  to  that  in  any  European  country.  It 
is  well  known  that  wages  are  higher ;  but  the  fact  that  the  pur 
chasing  power  of  their  wages  is  greater,  though  equally  true,  is 
perhaps  not  so  generally  accepted.  In  other  words,  the  wages 
in  terms  of  food  and  clothing  are  higher.  The  Bureau  of  Labor 
finds  that  wages  in  Massachusetts  are  higher  than  in  Great 
Britain  in  the  proportion  of  170  to  100,  while  commodities  are 
also  higher  in  the  proportion  of  117  to  100.  To  sum  up,  it  ap 
pears  that  wages,  expressed  in  commodities,  are  about  40  per 
cent,  higher  in  Massachusetts  than  in  Great  Britain. 

The  American  workingman  is  better  fed,  clothed,  and  housed, 
and  enjoys  more  luxuries,  than  his  European  brother.  Why? 
The  protectionists  attribute  it  to  the  tariff.  If  so,  why  are  not 
the  working  classes  of  Germany,  Russia,  Austria,  Italy,  and 
Spain,  all  of  them  protected  countries,  equally  prosperous  ?  Is 
it  not  due  rather  to  the  fact  that  this  is  a  new  country,  in  which 
development  is  going  on  rapidly  ;  in  which,  speaking  broadly, 
there  is  an  abundance  of  work,  and  comparatively  few  to  do 


POPULATION 

it?     In  short,  is  not  the  demand  for  labor  crowding  upon  the 
supply  ? 

The  high  price  and  scarcity  of  labor  have  greatly  stimulated 
invention.  It  is  a  common  saying,  that,  thanks  to  machinery,  a 
man  of  to-day  can  produce  as  much  as  a  hundred  men  of  the 
last  century,  and  the  saying  is  in  great  part  true.  We  have 
devised  machines  for  making  almost  everything,  and  they  can  do 
almost  everything  except  think. 

TRADES  UNIONS 

In  recent  years,  the  laboring  classes  have  formed  organiza 
tions,  or  trades  unions.  These  are  much  more  complete  and 
powerful  among  the  various  classes  of  skilled  labor  than  among 
the  unskilled  classes,  which  are  as  yet  but  feebly  organized. 
Most  of  the  skilled  trades  are  represented  in  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  which  is  said  to  include  a  membership  of 
about  650,000,  thus  representing  not  far  from  one  per  cent,  of 
the  population,  and  ten  per  cent,  of  the  laboring  classes.  The 
principal  trade  organizations  included  in  the  Federation,  are  as 
follows : 

ELEMENTS    OF    THF    AMERICAN    FEDERATION    OF    LABOR 

Carpenters  and  .Joiners < 60, 000 

Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen « 24,000 

Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers 30,500 

Brotherhood  of  Railway  Trainmen 24,000 

Iron  Molders'  Union 30,000 

Amalgamated  Association  of  Iron  and  Steel  Workers 45,000 

International  Typographical  Union 29,000 

Journeymen  Tailors'  Union 18,500 

Whatever  may  be  the  avowed  purposes  of  trades  unions, 
their  principal  object  is  to  control  rates  of  wages  in  their  own 
interest.  In  this  matter  they  have  shown  the  want  of  fore 
sight  and  breadth  of  view  which  was  to  have  been  expected  from 
the  classes  making  up  their  membership.  The  controlling  ele 
ment  in  these  organizations  is  of  foreign  birth  or  immediate 
foreign  extraction.  Their  plan  of  operations  is  direct  and  sim 
ple;  it  is  to  obtain,  in  detail,  every  concession  that  it  is  possible 


144  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

to  wring  from  the  employers,  using  every  weapon  at  hand,  legal 
or  illegal,  such  as  blackmail,  boycott,  or  violence.  By  such  a 
policy  they  have  scored  many  seeming  successes,  but  at  the  cost 
of  alienating  to  a  large  extent  the  sympathies  of  the  community, 
and  of  discouraging  industry  in  many  localities,  thereby  reduc 
ing  the  demand  for  labor  therein.  The  struggle  between  em 
ployers  and  employes  has  already  become  so  bitter,  that  a  large 
and  rapidly  increasing  proportion  of  the  former  refuse  to  employ 
members  of  labor  organizations. 

This  narrow,  short-sighted  policy  of  the  labor  organizations  is 
certain  to  injure  the  laborer  in  the  long  run.  Any  hostile  atti 
tude  toward  employers  is  as  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the 
laborers  as  would  be  a  similar  attitude  on  the  part  of  employers 
toward  employes. 

There  are,  however,  many  things  which  these  organizations 
can  undertake  that  would  be  of  permanent  good  to  their  class, 
and  that  would  injure  no  one.  Indeed,  there  are  measures 
which,  if  carried  out,  would  better  their  condition  permanently 
and  rationally  ;  prominent  among  them  is  the  restriction  of  immi 
gration.  The  worst  enemy  of  the  American  laboring  man  is  the 
European  laboring  man.  If  immigration  is  to  go  on  unchecked, 
labor  before  many  decades  will  become  as  abundant  here,  in  pro 
portion  to  the  demand,  as  in  Europe ;  and  when  that  time  arrives, 
all  the  trades  unions  in  America  will  be  unable  to  keep  its  price 
above  the  European  standard. 

INVENTION 

The  high  price  of  labor  in  this  country  has  induced  an  activ 
ity  of  invention  unparalleled  in  other  times  and  in  other  lands. 
From  the  cotton-gin  to  the  telephone,  the  list  of  American  in 
ventions  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  world. 

The  steamboat  and  the  locomotive  have  revolutionized  traffic 
and  reduced  the  earth  to  a  fraction  of  its  former  dimensions. 
Not  only  has  the  railway  increased  the  rate  of  travel  ten  times, 
but  it  has  also  vastly  increased  the  comforts  of  travel,  chief 
among  which  are  sleeping-cars.  The  safety  of  travelers  is  pro 
vided  for,  not  only  by  the  character  of  the  railway  employe's,  but 


POPULATION  145 

by  scores  of  devices,  such  as  the  Westinghouse  air  brake  and  the 
block  system  of  running  trains. 

By  means  of  refrigerator  cars  perishable  goods  are  transported 
to  great  distances,  and  the  fruits  of  Florida  and  California  reach 
New  York  as  fresh  as  when  plucked.  Rapid  transit  in  cities 
has  been  brought  about  by  street  cars,  which,  drawn  at  first  by 
horses  or  mules,  are  now  driven  by  cables  or  by  an  electric  cur 
rent.  Elevators  carry  us  up  and  down  our  high  buildings,  re 
ducing  them  practically  to  one  story.  As  to  the  communication 
of  messages,  the  telegraph,  and  later  the  telephone,  have  simply 
annihilated  space. 

These  arc  a  few  of  the  things  that  Americans  have  done  in  the 
way  of  expediting,  cheapening,  and  rendering  more  comfortable, 
the  great  business  of  transportation. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  go  into  details  concerning  manufactures, 
because  of  the  great  multiplicity  of  inventions  for  cheapening 
and  bettering  the  product.  Almost  everything  is  made  by  ma 
chinery  ;  and  though  many  of  the  machines  rnav  have  originated 
in  foreign  lands,  there  are  none  of  them  in  their  present  form 
but  show,  in  modifications  and  adaptations,  the  fine  inventive 
genius  of  the  American.  Thus  the  printing-press,  although  a 
German  invention,  has  been  brought  to  its  present  high  state  of 
excellence  mainly  through  American  ingenuity.  So  with  the 
countless  machines  used  in  metal  working,  in  boot  and  shoe 
making,  and  in  spinning  and  weaving. 

In  the  applications  of  electricity  the  Americans  have  always 
occupied  the  leading  place.  Besides  the  telegraph,  the  telephone, 
and  the  electric  street  car,  already  mentioned,  they  have  intro 
duced  and  developed  electric  lighting  and  the  transmission  of 
power  by  wire  for  all  sorts  of  domestic  and  light  manufacturing 
purposes. 

Even  the  farmer's  condition  has  been  vastly  improved  by 
invention.  In  place  of  the  spade  and  hoe  we  have  to-day  gang 
plows  and  harrows  driven  by  horse  or  steam  power.  The  flail 
has  given  way  to  the  steam  thresher,  and  the  scythe  and  sickle 
to  the  mowing-machine,  the  reaper  and  binder.  "  In  the  sweat 
of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,"  was  not  written  of  this  day 
or  generation. 
10 


146  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


RELIGION 

In  the  United  States  absolute  religious  freedom  prevails. 
There  is  no  restriction  upon  belief,  although  in  certain  cases, 
notably  that  of  the  Mormons,  restrictions  have  been  placed  upon 
actions  growing  out  of  such  belief.  As  a  result  of  this  free 
dom,  coupled  with  the  great  variety  of  peoples  assembled  here 
from  all  parts  of  the  globe,  the  number  of  religious  denomina 
tions,  with  their  petty  subdivisions,  is  almost  bewildering.  There 
are  hundreds  of  species  and  varieties  of  religious  belief,  each 
represented  by  some  form  of  organization. 

The  total  number  of  clergymen,  preachers,  etc.,  in  1890,  as 
returned  by  the  eleventh  census,  was  108,879  ;  of  church  edifices, 
142,378.  The  value  of  church  property  was  $680,000,000,  and 
the  number  of  communicants  20,661,046.  This  number  consti 
tutes  more  than  one-third  of  the  population  of  the  country, 
and  half  of  that  part  of  the  population  which  exceeds  ten 
years  of  age.  The  principal  denominations,  and  the  number  of 
communicants  in  each,  are  shown  in  the  following  table: 

MEMBERSHIP   OP  PRINCIPAL   RELIGIOUS  DENOMINATIONS 

Catholic 6,257,871 

Methodist 4,589,284 

Baptist 3,762,729 

Presbyterian 1,278,332 

Lutheran 1,231,072 

Christian 744,773 

Episcopal 540,509 

Congregational 512,771 

Reformed 309,458 

United  Brethren 225,158 

German  Evangelical  Synod  187,432 

Latter  Day  Saints 166,125 

Evangelical  Association  133,313 

Jews 130,496 

Friends 107,208 

Dunkards 73,795 

Unitarian 67,749 

Adventist 60,491 

Universalist 49,194 

Mennonite 41,541 


POPULATION  147 

From  the  foregoing  table  it  appears  that  the  Catholics  and 
Methodists  together  outnumber  all  other  denominations,  con 
stituting  more  than  one-half  of  the  total  church  membership  of 
the  country  ;  that  the  Catholics,  Methodists,  and  Baptists  jointly 
represent  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  church  membership ; 
while  these,  with  the  Presbyterians  and  Lutherans,  comprise 
no  less  than  seventeen-twentieths,  leaving  only  three-twentieths 
of  the  entire  church  population  to  be  distributed  among  other 
denominations. 

Catholics. — It  will  be  seen  that  the  Catholics  form  the  most 
numerous  religious  body  ;  but  it  must  be  understood  that  this 
denomination  counts  in  its  membership  all  members  of  a  family 
of  which  either  or  both  the  heads  are  connected  with  the  church, 
while  in  the  other  denominations  this  practice?  does  not  prevail. 
A  moment's  reflection  will  show  that  this  method  of  counting- 

o 

must  swell  greatly  the  apparent  number  of  Catholics,  and  that 
in  order  to  make  their  membership  comparable  with  that  of  the 
other  denominations,  it  should  be  reduced  nearlv  or  quite  one- 
half,  since  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States,  and  presum 
ably  of  the  Catholic  element,  approximately  one-half  are  under 
age. 

The  Catholic  population  is  derived  from  several  sources, 
and  is  widely  dispersed  over  the  country,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
map  on  Plate  21,  facing  page  1-AS.  It  is  present  in  strong  force 
throughout  the  northeastern  states,  where  it  is  composed  mainly 
of  Irish  immigrants  and  their  descendants,  and  of  French  Cana 
dian  immigrants.  It  forms  a  considerable  part  of  the  popula 
tion  of  the  states  bordering  the  Great  Lakes,  where  it  is  mainly 
composed  of  French  Canadians.  A  notable  proportion  is  found 
in  Maryland  and  the  District  of  Columbia,  made  up  mainly 
of  the  descendants  of  the  original  settlers;  also  in  Louisiana,  of 
the  descendants  of  the  French  and  Spanish  founders  of  that 
state.  The  Catholic  is  almost  the  sole  religion  represented  in 
Now  Mexico,  and  is  prominent  in  Arizona,  southern  California, 
and  southern  Texas,  where  its  adherents  are  of  Mexican  blood. 

3Iethoclists. — Next  to  the  Catholic  the  Methodist  denomi 
nation  is  the  strongest  numerically  upon  the  face  of  the  returns, 
and  is  probably  the  strongest  of  all  in  fact.  It  is  widely  repre- 


148  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

sen  ted,  at  least  one  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  every  state  and 
territory,  Utah  and  Nevada  excepted,  being  Methodists,  as  is 
shown  by  the  map  on  Plate  21.  Its  greatest  strength  is  in  the 
southern  states— the  colored  element  of  these  states  belong 
ing,  with  few  exceptions,  either  to  the  Baptist  or  the  Methodist 
denomination;  and  it  reaches  its  maximum  in  South  Carolina, 
where  not  less  than  twenty-two  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population 
are  Methodists. 

Baptists. — The  Baptist  denomination  is  almost  as  widely 
dispersed  as  the  Methodist,  as  illustrated  on  Plate  22,  although 
in  the  far  west  it  is  but  feebly  represented.  Like  the  Methodist 
body  it  is  strongest,  both  numerically  and  proportionally,  in  the 
southern  states,  especially  among  the  colored  element,  and  is 
proportionally  weak  at  the  north.  In  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia 
twenty  per  cent,  of  the  population  are  Baptists;  in  Virginia, 
nineteen  per  cent. ;  and  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  seventeen 
per  cent. 

Presbyterians. — The  Presbyterians  are  found  in  their 
greatest  strength  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  and 
thence  westward  through  the  prairie  states  as  far  as  Kansas. 
Notable  proportions  occupy  the  states  lying  north  of  these,  such 
as  New  York  and  Michigan,  and  those  lying  immediately  south, 
as  the  Virginias,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  the  Carolinas.  In 
proportion  to  their  total  numbers  they  are  a  wide-spread  denomi 
nation,  as  is  shown  on  Plate  22.  In  New  England,  however, 
there  are  practically  none,  the  New  England  Presbyterians  being 
Congregationalists. 

Lutherans. — The  Lutherans  are  a  German  denomination, 
whose  extent  and  density  appear  to  be  in  direct  ratio  to  those 
of  the  German  element  of  the  population.  This  is  shown  on 
Plate  23.  They  are  found  from  Pennsylvania  and  New  York, 
westward  to  the  rocky  mountain  region,  occupying  the  northern 
states  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Lake  states,  and  appear 
in  the  greatest  proportion  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  and  the 
Dakotas,  where  the  German  population  is  most  fully  established. 

Christians. — The  Christians  are  a  large  denomination, 
numbering  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million.  Members  of  this 
denomination  are  found  in  nearly  every  state  in  the  Union,  but 


POPULA  TION  149 

its  principal  strength  is  in  the  states  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
valley — in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Tennes 
see,  and  Kansas — while  to  the  eastward  they  are  found  in  con 
siderable  numbers  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  and  to  the 
southwest  as  far  as  Texas.  The  distribution  of  this  denomina 
tion  is  shown  on  Plate  23,  facing  page  148. 

Episcopalians. — The  Episcopalians  are  found  almost  en 
tirely  in  the  northeastern  states,  and  in  the  greatest  numbers  in 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  and  New  Jersey.  They 
extend  in  a  notable  ratio  as  far  south  as  Maryland  and  even 
Virginia,  but  the  denomination  has  not  spread  westward  or  far 
ther  southward  in  any  appreciable  proportion.  Their  distribu 
tion  is  shown  on  Plate  24,  facing  page  148. 

Congregational ists. — The  Congregationalists  (see  Plate 
24,  facing  page  148)  are  practically  confined  to  the  New  Eng 
land  states,  in  which  thev  form  proportionally  a  very  important 
body,  but  are  quite  inconsiderable  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Other  Denominations. — The  foregoing  are  the  principal 
denominations.  Of  the  legion  of  others,  none  have  a  member 
ship  reaching  half  a  million,  and  few  of  them  present  anv 
features  of  distribution  of  special  interest,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Dav  Saints, 
popularly  known  as  the  Mormons.  These  peculiar  people, 
numbering  166,000,  are  found  almost  entirely  in  Utah  and  the 
states  and  territories  immediately  adjacent;  118,000,  or  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  Mormons,  are  found  in  Utah;  and  in  neighbor 
ing  parts  of  Idaho.  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Arizona,  and  Nevada 
are  25,000  more.  The  few  remaining  are  scattered  widely  over 
the  east.  It  will  doubtless  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  many  to 
learn  that  over  5,000  members  of  this  community  are  still  to  be 
found  in  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  3,000  in  Missouri. 

Distribution  of  Communicants. — Finally,  the  distri 
bution  of  church  membership  as  a  whole  is  brought  together 
upon  the  diagram  on  page  150,  and  upon  the  map  constituting 
Plate  25,  facing  page  150.  Of  all  the  states  and  territories  the 
greatest  proportion  of  church  membership  to  population  is  found 
in  New  Mexico,  where,  as  above  stated,  the  people  are  almost 
entirely  Catholics  ;  65  per  cent,  of  the  69  per  cent,  which  church 


150 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


members  bear  to  population  being  of  that  denomination.  Next  in 
order  is  Utah,  where  61  per  cent,  of  the  people  are  church  mem 
bers,  nearly  all  of  them  being  Mormons.  Then  follows  Arizona, 
where  the  high  proportion  of  47  per  cent,  is  produced  mainly 
by  the  Catholics  of  Mexican  blood.  Next  comes  South  Carolina 


5      10     15     20     25 


PER  CENT. 

35     40     45     50     55      60     65     70 


NEW   MEXICO.. 
UTAH 

ARIZONA  
SOUTH  CAROLINA 
RHODE    ISLAND... 
MASSACHUSETTS 
NORTH  CAROLINA. 
CONNECTICUT 
DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA 
MINNESOTA 
GEORGIA  
ALABAMA  . 

LOUISIANA....  
MARYLAND 
NEW  YORK 
NEW   JERSEY....  
VIRGINIA         
KENTUCKY... 
MISSISSIPPI 
OHIO  

WISCONSIN      . 
ILLINOIS  

INDIANA     .. 

VERMONT 
TENNESSEE... 
TEXAS 
DELAWARE... 

IDAHO 
NEW  HAMPSHIRE... 
MISSOURI 
MICHIGAN... 

SOUTH  DAKOTA.... 
ARKANSAS.. 
WEST   VIRGINIA 

MONTANA... 

— 

— 

— 

— 

•M 

KANSAS 

™ 

™ 

••• 

•"• 

1MB 

OREGON       

•••• 

— 

— 

— 

•0 

CALIFORNIA 

~ 

— 

— 

•1 

COLORADO 

3 

™ 

"• 

•"• 

•I 

WYOMING... 

~ 

™ 

9MH 

— 

I 

NEBRASKA 

™ 

•• 

"• 

•" 

WASHINGTON 

•• 

— 

— 

^ 

NEVADA.. 

•" 

™ 

~ 

• 

OKLAHOMA... 

"1 

— 

"• 

—  ! 

-1 

1 

PROPORTION   OF  CHURCH   MEMBERS  TO  AGGREGATE 
POPULATION   IN  1890 

with  45  per  cent,  mainly  Methodists  and  Baptists.  Other 
southern  states  have  a  high  percentage  of  church  membership; 
as  42  per  cent,  in  North  Carolina,  and  36  in  Alabama,  Florida, 
and  Louisiana.  But  the  proportions  in  these  states  are,  on  the 
whole,  exceeded  in  southern  New  England,  where  the  proportion 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   21 


PROPORTION   OF  CATHOLICS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN  1890 


PROPORTION   OF  METHODISTS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN  1890 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NATION 
PLATE    22 


PROPORTION   OF  BAPTISTS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN  1890 


PROPORTION   OF  PRESBYTERIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN  1890 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NAT] ON 
PLATE   23 


PROPORTION   OF  LUTHERANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION   IN  1890 


PROPORTION   OF  CHRISTIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN  1890 


THE   BUILDING    OF  A   RATIOS 
PLATE   24 


PROPORTION   OF  EPISCOPALIANS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION    IN   1390 


PROPORTION   OF  CONGREGATION ALISTS  TO  TOTAL  POPULATION 

IN  1890 


POPULATION  151 

is  43  per  cent,  in  Rhode  Island,  42  per  cent,  in  Massachusetts, 
and  41  per  cent,  in  Connecticut.  These  large  proportions  are 
due  chiefly,  as  already  stated,  to  the  presence  of  great  numbers 
of  Irish  and  French-Canadian  Catholics.  In  the  upper  Missis 
sippi  valley  the  proportion  of  church  membership  to  population 
is  about  tlie  same  as  in  the  country  at  large;  that  is,  about  33 
per  cent.  At  the  west,  with  the  exception  of  the  territories,  the 
proportion  is  low,  reaching  only  14  per  cent,  in  Xevada,  17  per 
cent,  in  Washington,  and  18  per  cent,  in  Nebraska.  The  ex 
tremely  low  proportion  given  for  Oklahoma,  7  per  cent.,  may  be 
regarded  as  merely  a  temporary  condition  of  things,  produced  by 
the  influx  of  lawless  elements  to  that  newly  opened  laud. 


MORTALITY 

Continuous  records  of  mortality  have  been  kept  only  in  the 
states  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  of  late  years 
in  Alabama,  and  in  some  of  the  larger  cities.  It  is  for  these 
states  and  cities  alone  that  we  have  complete  and  reliable  statis 
tics  of  the  total  number  of  deaths,  and  of  the  diseases  to  which 
they  were  respectively  due. 

Census  Statistics. — The  statistics  of  the  eleventh  census 
were  secured  partlv  by  an  extensive  correspondence  with  physi 
cians,  and  partlv  from  the  schedules  of  the  enumerators.  Circu 
lar  letters  were  sent  to  all  the  physicians  of  the  country  whose 
addresses  could  be  obtained,  asking  for  records  of  all  deaths 
occurring  in  their  practice.  These  inquiries  w^ere  quite  generally 
answered,  but  of  course  the  replies  did  not  by  any  means  include 
all  deaths  occurring  during  the  year.  The  failures  in  this 
regard  were  due  to  several  reasons: 

First,  The  lack  of  a  complete  list  of  physicians  ; 

Second,  The  failure  of  a  certain  proportion  of  those  called 
upon,  to  answer ; 

Third,  The  failure  of  memory  in  the  case  of  many  who  did 
answer ;  and, 

Fourth,  The  fact  that  a  considerable  proportion  died  unattended 
by  physicians. 


152  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

The  enumerators'  returns  were  also  deficient,  owing  mainly  to 
defects  of  memory  on  the  part  of  those  answering  the  questions 
in  the  schedules,  and,  perhaps,  in  certain  individual  cases  to  the 
carelessness  of  the  enumerators  themselves. 

The  returns  from  these  two  sources  were,  of  course,  to  a  large 
extent,  duplications  one  of  another.  The  first  work,  and  a  very 
important  one,  was  to  eliminate  these  duplications.  When  this 
had  been  done,  and  the  returns  footed,  they  were  compared  with 
the  record  of  the  states  and  cities  which  had  kept  careful  records 
of  mortality,  and  the  extent  of  the  deficiencies  and  their  char 
acter  examined. 

These  registration  states  and  cities  indicate  that  the  annual 
death  rate  of  the  United  States  is  about  eighteen  deaths  per 
thousand  inhabitants.  The  census  returns  show  an  apparent 
death  rate  of  fourteen  per  thousand,  proving  that,  on  the  whole, 
the  omissions  amounted  to  not  far  from  four  deaths  per  thou 
sand. 

But  the  extent  of  these  omissions  is  by  no  means  uniform  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  ;  neither  is  it  the  same  at  different 
ages  nor  for  the  different  races  and  nativities  ;  nor  even  for  dif 
ferent  classes  of  diseases.  In  the  densely  settled  northeastern 
states  the  census  returns  are  much  more  nearly  complete  than 
among  the  scattered  rural  population  of  the  south.  The  returns 
are  more  complete  as  to  mature  persons  than  as  to  children, 
especially  children,  less  than  one  year  of  age.  It  is  also  true  that 
the  returns  are  much  more  complete  for  the  native  whites  than 
for  the  foreign  born,  and  these  in  turn  than  for  the  colored  pop 
ulation.  -As  to  the  foreign  born,  the  returns  are  doubtless  more 
complete  in  the  case  of  nationalities  known  to  be  higher  in  the 
scale  of  civilization  than  in  the  lower.  Thus,  among  the  Ger 
mans,  Irish,  and  Scandinavians,  the  returns  are  more  satisfactory 
than  among  the  Poles,  Hungarians,  and  Bohemians. 

As  regards  the  inequality  in  the  returns  of  mortality  from 
different  diseases,  it  is  found  that  the  returns  for  the  diseases 
prevalent  among  children  are  less  complete  than  those  prevalent 
among  grown  persons. 

Having  thus  qualified  the  mortality  statistics,  they  are  given 
for  what  they  are  worth.  The  total  number  of  deaths  reported 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   26 


PROPORTION    WHICH   THE  NUMBER    OF   DEATHS    FROM   CERTAIN 
DISEASES    BORE  TO    ALL    DEATHS    IN    THE 
UNITED   STATES,    IN   1890 


POPULATION  153 

by  the  census  in  the  year  1890  was  872,944,  showing  a  death 
rate  for  that  year  of  fourteen  per  thousand.  The  number  of 
deaths  of  native  whites  was  596,055,  a  death  rate  for  that  class 
of  thirteen  per  thousand.  The  number  of  deaths  of  foreign 
whites  was  140,075,  showing  a  deatli  rate  of  fifteen  per  thou 
sand  ;  and  the  number  of  deaths  reported  among  the  colored  was 
114,313,  also  a  death  rate  of  fifteen  per  thousand. 

The  mortality  statistics  of  the  registration  states  of  Massachu 
setts,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Jersey,  show  that  the  death  rate  of 
the  foreign  born  is  slightly  greater  than  that  of  the  native  whites. 

Again,  in  the  registration  state  of  Alabama,  and  in  the  cities 
of  Baltimore,  Washington,  St.  Louis,  Louisville,  and  Xew  Or 
leans,  where  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  population  is 
colored,  the  statistics  show  tlmt  the  mortality  of  the  colored  cle 
ment  is  very  nearlv  double  that  of  the  whites,  ranging  in  these 
cities  from  thirty-two  to  thirty-eight  per  thousand,  while  that  of 
the  whites  ranges  from  seventeen  to  twenty-two  per  thousand  ; 
thus  demonstrating  the  fact  that  the  mortality  returns  for  the 
colored  element,  as  compared  with  those  for  the  white,  are  greatly 
understated. 

Causes  of  Death. — The  following  table  gives  the  number 
of  deaths  from  several  leading  causes,  with  the  proportion 
which  each  bears  to  the  total  number  of  deaths.  The  diagram 
on  Plate  2f>,  facing  page  lf)^,  presents  the  same  facts  in  a  graphic 
manner. 

RATIO    OF    DEATHS    FROM    CERTAIN    DISEASES    TO    TOTAL 
MORTALITY 


CATSKS  OF  DKATII 

Percentage  of 
Total  Deaths 

Scarlet  fever                .      .                       

0  7 

Measles     .              

1.1 

"Whoopin01  c'oufrh                                                        

1  0 

Diphtheria  and.  croup                                  

4  8 

Enteric  fever                     

3.1 

Malarial  fever                                                         •             ... 

2  1 

Diarrheal  diseases                                          .         

8.5 

2.4 

Consumption                     

11.6 

Pneumonia                                                                 •       ... 

8  8 

Puerperal  discuses.  . 

1.3 

154 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


Thus  it  appears  that  the  principal  cause  of  death  is  consump 
tion,  which  has  produced  11.6  per  cent,  of  all  deaths.  Next 
follows  pneumonia  with  8.8  per  cent.,  and  diarrheal  diseases 
with  8.5  per  cent. 

Mortality  in  Registration  Cities. — The  following 
table  gives  the  statistics  of  mortality  in  most  of  the  registration 
cities  of  the  country,  which  comprise  the  twenty-five  largest 
cities.  This  is  illustrated  also  in  the  diagram  on  page  155.  The 
table  shows  the  death  rate  of  the  total  population,  of  the  native 
and  foreign  born  white,  and,  in  the  case  of  five  southern  cities 
where  the  proportion  of  colored  is  considerable,  the  death  rate 
of  the  colored. 

MORTALITY  IN  REGISTRATION  CITIES 


Total 

Native  White 

Foreign 

Colored 

New  York 

29 

32 

23 

Chicago                  .                  .... 

21 

19 

26 

Philadelphia    .  .       

23 

26 

14 

Brooklyn  

26 

22 

23 

St   Louis 

19 

17 

21 

35 

Boston 

23 

26 

22 

Baltimore     .         

25 

22 

23 

37 

San  Francisco  

23 

26 

20 

Cincinnati 

22 

21 

25 

Cleveland.                             .  .   .  . 

22 

26 

15 

Buffalo  .                        

20 

21 

17 

New  Orleans  

29 

22 

38 

36 

Pittsburg  

22 

23 

19 

\\^ashington 

26 

18 

28 

38 

Detroit                                .  . 

20 

24 

14 

Milwaukee  

20 

21 

16 

Newark  

29 

31 

24 

Minneapolis 

15 

17 

10 

Jersey  City 

28 

29 

24 

Louisville     .         .                 

22 

18 

25 

32 

Omaha  

10 

10 

7 

Rochester  

17 

15 

18 

St.  Paul 

17 

21 

10 

Kansas  City 

19 

16 

16 

Providence            .  .    

22 

23 

19 

The  small  death  rate  of  the  foreign  born  in  many  of  these 
registration  cities,  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  there  are  in 
this  element  no  young  children,  among  whom  the  death  rate  is 
exceptionally  large. 


POPULA  TTON 


155 


NEW  YORK 

NEW  ORLEANS 
NEWARK 
JERSEY  CITY. 
BROOKLYN 

WASHINGTON 
BALTIMORE 

PHILADELPHIA 

BOSTON 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

CINCINNATI 

CLEVELAND 

PITTSBURG._. 

PROVIDENCE___ 

LOUISVILLE 

CHICAGO 
BUFFALO 
DETROIT. 
MILWAUKEE 
ST.  LOUIS 
KANSAS  CITY.._ 


NUMBER  OF  DEATHS  PER  THOUSAND  INHABITANTS 
246       8      1.0      1.2     1.4     1.6     1<8     20     22     24      26     28     30 


DEATH  RATE  OF  THE  GREAT  CITIES  IN  1890 

Death  Rates  of  Countries. — The  following  table,  and  the 
diagram  on  page  156,  give  the  death  rate  per  thousand  in  this 
country,  in  comparison  with  that  in  most  of  the  European  nations  : 

DEATH   RATES   PER   TIlorSAXD   IX   VARIOUS   C'OUXTRIKS 

United  States  18 

Denmark 19 

England  and  Wales 19.5 

Scotland 19. 7 

Netherlands 20.5 

Portugal 20.5 

Belgium 20.  (5 

Switzerland „ 20.9 

France 22.8 

German  Empire 24.4 

Italy ,  . .  .. 26.4 

Austria 29.4 

Spain 29.7 

Hungary 33.9 


156 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


From  this  showing  it  would  appear  that  the  Americans  live 
longer  than  the  citizens  of  any  European  country. 


NUMBER  OF  DEATHS  PER  THOUSAND  INHABITANTS 


1 

2           1 

5.         2 

0          2- 

\           2 

3          3 

Cf»OTL  AND 

NETHERLANDS 

PORTUGAL 

BELGIUM 

SWITZERLAND 

FRANCE 

GERMAN  EMPIRE 

ITALY 

Al  JCTDI  A 

SPAIN 

HUNGARY 

DEATH    RATES   OF    VARIOUS   COUNTRIES    IN    189O 


CRIME 


In  1890  there  were  in  the  United  States,  under  conviction  for 
crime,  82,329  persons,  or  13  in  every  10,000  of  the  inhabitants. 
Of  these  18  per  cent,  were  in  juvenile  reformatories,  24  per  cent, 
in  county  jails,  and  55  per  cent,  in  penitentiaries.  Only  8  per 
cent,  were  females,  the  remainder,  92  per  cent,  being  males.  Of 
the  whole  number,  7,386,  or  9  per  cent.,  were  under  sentence  for 
homicide. 

The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  the  total  num 
ber  of  prisoners  by  race  and  nativity,  this  distribution  being 
expressed  in  terms  of  the  proportion  between  the  total  number 
of  prisoners  and  the  number  in  each  class.  Together  with  it  is 
placed,  for  contrast,  the  like  proportion  between  the  total  popu 
lation  and  the  total  number  of  persons  of  each  class  in  the 
population : 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   27 

MARITAL   RELATIONS 


IDLE  AND  EMPLOYED 


Employed 


EDUCATION 


HABITS 


Moderate  drinkers  \     '         \  Drunkard 


TRADE 


I  '\Mechanio 


THE  PRISONERS  OFTHE  UNITED  STATES  IN  1890 


POPULA  TION  157 

RACE  AND   NATIVITY  OF   PRISONERS  AND   OF   POPULATION 


Proportion  of  all 
Prisoners 

Proportion  of  all 
Population 

\Vhite  native  of  native  parent^ 

26 

_- 

White  native  of  foreign  parents  . 

19 

18 

Foreign  born  

19 

15 

Colored   

30 

12 

Unknown 

6 

The  relations  of  the  number  of  prisoners  to  the  various  ele 
ments  of  the  population,  is  expressed  in  different  form  in  the 
following  table: 

NUMBER   OF    PRISONKRS   OF    EACH    CLASS    IN    10,000 
INHABITANTS 

Total , 13 

White  natives  of  native  parents (i 

White  natives  of  foreign  parents 13 

Foreign  born 1  ? 

Colored 32 

These  figures  show  that  the  proportion  of  criminals  among 
whites  of  native  extraction  is  very  small  ;  that  the  proportion  of 
criminals  of  native  birth,  but  of  foreign  parentage,  is  more  than 
twice  as  great  as  among  those  of  native  extraction  ;  that  the  pro 
portion  of  criminals  of  foreign  birth  is  nearly  three  times  as 
great  as  among  those  of  native  extraction,  and  much  greater  than 
that  of  native  birth  but  foreign  extraction.  It  shows,  further 
more,  that  the  proportion  of  colored  criminals  is  far  greater  than 
that  of  any  other  element,  being  more  than  double  the  propor 
tion  of  the  whites,  and  more  than  live  times  that  of  the  whites 
of  native  extraction.  It  is  the  colored  and  foreign  elements  that 
burden  our  courts  and  fill  our  jails.  Could  they  but  be  elimi 
nated  from  our  population,  the  millennium  would  be  near. 

In  the  diagram  on  Plate  27,  facing  page  156,  are  illustrated 
other  facts  concerning  the  social  condition  of  the  prisoners.  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  majority  of  prisoners  were  unmarried,  that 
the  proportion  of  the  widowed  and  divorced  was  very  small,  and 
that  two-thirds  of  them  were  employed  when  the  crimes  were  com- 


158  TEE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

mitted.  In  the  matter  of  education,  it  appears,  taking  the  whole 
group  together,  that  about  one-fourth  were  illiterate ;  of  the 
native  born  the  proportion  was  very  much  less,  while  of  the  for 
eign  born  about  one-fifth  were  unable  to  read  or  write ;  of  the 
colored  element,  considerably  more  than  one-half  were  illiterates. 
Regarding  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  it  will  be  seen  that 
more  than  one-half  of  each  element  were  moderate  drinkers,  and 
that  but  a  comparatively  small  proportion  were  drunkards. 
Three-fourths  of  all  prisoners  had  no  trade ;  the  proportion  is 
less  in  the  case  of  the  whites,  particularly  those  of  foreign  extrac 
tion.  In  the  case  of  the  colored  element,  probably  nine-tenths 
were  without  any  well-defined  means  of  earning  a  livelihood. 

PAUPERISM 

The  amount  of  pauperism  is  a  function  of  two  elements  :  first, 
the  poverty  of  the  masses ;  and,  second,  the  provision  for  its 
relief.  The  more  elaborate  and  complete  this  provision,  the 
greater  the  amount  of  pauperism. 

In  the  United  States  the  abundance  of  work  and  its  ample 
remuneration  keep  down  the  numbers  of  the  destitute  ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  no  such  provisions  exist  here  for  the  support  of 
those  who  are  willing  to  accept  support,  as  are  found  in  most 
European  countries.  It  is  true  that  almshouses  are  maintained 
by  most  of  the  New  England  towns  and  by  many  of  the  counties 
elsewhere,  and  that  there  are  many  charitable  organizations  of  one 
sort  or  another  ;  but  altogether  the  provision  for  the  support  of 
the  needy  is  in  no  way  comparable  with  that  of  older  countries. 

Our  available  statistics  relate  only  to  indoor  paupers ;  i.  e., 
those  supported  in  almshouses.  No  figures  are  given  for  those 
receiving  casual  aid  or  outdoor  relief. 

In  1890  the  number  of  paupers  in  almshouses  was  73,045,  or 
12  in  every  10,000  of  the  population.  The  number  of  males 
was  slightly  in  excess  of  females,  a  fact  for  which  it  is  difficult 
to  account.  The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  pau 
pers  by  race  and  nativity,  this  proportion  being  expressed  in 
terms  of  the  number  in  10,000  of  each  element  of  the  popula 
tion  : 


POPULATION  159 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  PAUPERS  BY  RACE  AND  NATIVITY 

Total 12 

White 12 

White  natives  of  native  parentage 9 

White  natives  of  foreign  parentage 9 

Foreign  born 30 

Colored , 9 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  proportion  of  all  these  elements  is 
equal,  with  the  exception  of  the  foreign  born,  which  is  more 
than  three  times  as  great,  a  fact  that  speaks  volumes  in  favor  of 
the  restriction  of  immigration. 


- 


CONJUGAL   CONDITION 

The  last  census  furnishes,  for  the  first  time,  the  statistics  of 
the  single,  married,  widowed,  and  divorced.  These  are  classi 
fied  bv  sex,  race,  general  nativity  and  nativity  of  parents,  and 
by  age. 

Of  the  total  population  59.20  per  cent,  were  single,  35.66  per 
cent,  married,  4.74  per  cent,  widowed,  and  0.19  per  cent,  di 
vorced. 

Analyzing  the  figures  by  sex,  it  is  seen  that  of  males  62.20 
per  cent,  were  single,  while  of  females  there  were  only  56.24  per 
cent,  single.  The  proportions  of  married  were:  males,  34.94  per 
cent,  and  females  36.41  per  cent,  the  latter  being  slightly  the 
greater.  Of  widowed  the  proportion  of  males  was  but  2.54  per 
cent.,  while  of  females  it  was  not  less  than  7.05  per  cent,  show 
ing  that  a  much  greater  proportion  of  widowers  remarry  than  of 
widows.  Of  the  divorced,  the  proportion  of  males  was  0.15  per 
cent.,  and  of  females  0.24  per  cent,  showing  that  divorced  men 
remarry  more  freely  than  divorced  women. 

The  classification  by  race  and  nativity  develops  many  inter 
esting  features.  This  is,  in  a  measure,  a  broad  classification  by 
station  in  life,  and  the  facts  brought  out  by  it  throw  light  upon 
the  conjugal  condition  of  different  social  classes. 

Native  whites  of  native  parentage,  when  taken  as  a  whole, 


160  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

form  the  highest  social  class  of  the  community,  as  measured  bv 
education,  occupations,  and  freedom  from  pauperism  and  crime. 
The  native  born  of  foreign  parentage  occupy,  as  a  whole,  the 
second  place,  while  the  foreign  born  and  the  colored  form  the 
lowest  class. 

The  native  whites  of  native  parentage,  and  the  colored,  have 
the  normal  proportions  of  children  and  mature  persons.  The 
native  whites  of  foreign  parentage,  and  the  foreign  born,  on  the 
other  hand,  contain  abnormal  proportions  of  these  classes. 
Among  the  first  the  proportion  of  children  is  very  large;  or,  to 
put  it  in  another  way,  the  proportion  of  mature  persons  is  very 
small,  because  the  parents  are  of  foreign  birth.  With  the  foreign 
born  the  reverse  is  the  case  ;  the  proportion  of  children  is  very 
small,  because  the  immigration  is  mainly  of  mature  persons. 
These  facts  affect  greatly  the  proportions  of  single,  married, 
widowed,  and  divorced.  Of  the  native  whites  of  native  parent 
age,  59.76  per  cent,  were  single,  35.41  per  cent,  were  married, 
4.46  per  cent,  were  widowed,  and  0.21  per  cent,  were  divorced. 
Among  the  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage  the  corresponding 
proportions  were  76.79  per  cent,  21.48  per  cent.,  1.63  per  cent., 
and  0.10  per  cent.,  respectively ;  while  among  the  foreign  born 
they  were  32.75  per  cent,  57.95  per  cent,  8.91  per  cent,  and 
0.20  per  cent,  respectively. 

The  classification  of  the  population  by  sex  and  groups  of  ages 
also  develops  many  features  of  interest  For  example,  of  the 
males  under  15  years  of  age,  the  proportion  of  married  is  inappre 
ciable,  while  of  females  about  one  in  ten  thousand  were  married. 
Between  the  ages  of  15  and  20,  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the 
males  and  one  per  cent  of  the  females  were  married.  At  ages 
above  20  the  proportion  of  married  increased  rapidly.  Between 
20  and  25,  nearly  one-fifth  of  the  males  and  nearly  one-half  of  the 
females  were  married,  while  for  the  next  five  years  the  propor 
tions  had  increased  to  nearly  one-half  of  the  former  and  nearly 
three-fourths  of  the  latter.  Between  30  and  35,  three-fourths  of 
the  males  and  four-fifths  of  the  females  were  married.  At  ages 
between  35  and  45,  the  proportion  of  married  of  the  sexes  was 
nearly  equal,  about  four-fifths  of  them  being  married.  From  this 
point  the  proportion  of  married  females  diminished,  owing  to  the 


POPULATION  161 

increase  of  widows,  while  that  of  married  males  went  on  increas 
ing,  and  reached  its  maximum  at  between  45  and  55  years.  At 
ages  over  65,  only  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  the  females  were 
found  to  be  married,  while  the  proportion  of  widows  exceeded  it. 
At  these  ages  the  proportion  of  married  men  was  seventy  per 
cent.  The  proportion  of  widows  exceeded  that  of  widowers  at 
all  ages. 

The  native  whites  of  native  parentage  married  younger  and  in 
greater  proportion  than  the  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage  or 
the  foreign  born.  Furthermore,  there  was  among  them  a  smaller 
proportion  of  widowed,  owing,  probably,  to  the  smaller  death 
rate.  The  colored  married  earlier  and  in  greater  proportion  than 
the  whites,  and  the  proportion  of  widowed  was  greater  among 
them  :  owing,  again,  to  the  greater  death  rate. 

What  has  been  stated  above  shows  that  marriage  among  the 
higher  classes  of  society  is  not  less  universal  than  among  the 
lower,  but  rather  the  reverse,  and  thus  disposes  of  another  pop 
ular  tradition. 

Further  proof  of  this  is  afforded  by  a  study  of  the  geographi 
cal  distribution  of  the  married.  Among  the  native  whites  of 
native  parentage,  the  greatest  proportion  of  married  is  found  in 
the  oldest  and  most  thickly  settled  section  of  the  country,  viz., 
the  northeastern  states,  and  the  smallest  proportion  at  the 
south. 

Divorce. — Among  the  aggregate  population  the  proportion 
of  divorced  to  married  people  was  0.54  per  cent. ;  in  other  words, 
there  was  found  one  divorced  person  to  186  married  persons. 
The  proportions  differed  with  different  classes,  as  follows:  Na 
tive  white  of  native  parentage,  1  to  164;  native  white  of  foreign 
parentage,  1  to  200 ;  foreign  born,  1  to  294 ;  and  colored,  1  to 
152. 

The  proportion  among  the  total  population  ranges  widely  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  being  least  in  the  southeastern 
states,  where  it  was  but  1  to  322  ;  next  in  the  northeastern 
states,  where  it  was  1  to  263.  Next  in  order  were  the  south 
central  states,  where  the  proportion  was  1  to  182  ;  then  the 
north  central  states,  with  1  to  150;  and,  finally,  the  western 
states,  where  it  reached  not  less  than  1  to  88.  Of  course  a  part 
11 


162  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

of  this  difference  in  geographical  distribution  is  due  to  the 
migration  of  divorced  persons,  but  another  part  must  be 
due  to  a  difference  in  the  laws  regulating  divorce  in  different 
states. 

A  comparison  of  divorce  statistics  of  the  great  cities  with 
those  of  the  country  at  large  shows  that,  on  the  whole,  there 
were  fewer  divorces  in  cities  than  in  the  country,  in  proportion 
to  married  people. 


AGRICULTURE 


FOR  statistics  of  agriculture  we  are  dependent  primarily  upon 
the  census.  Through  its  agency  we  are  enabled  to  obtain  every 
tenth  year  a  reasonably  faithful  picture  of  the  condition  of  this 
great  industry. 

Basing  its  work  upon  the  census  reports,  the  statistical  office 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  furnishes  estimates  each  year 
of  the  state  of  the  leading  crops.  Natural!}7  enough,  these  esti 
mates  are  much  more  reliable  in  the  early  years  of  the  decade 
than  in  the  later  ones. 

The  statistics  of  the  last  census  were  for  the  crops  of  the  vear 
1889.  The  tabulation  of  the  results  has  been  completed  for  cer 
tain  leading  crops  only,  such  as  the  cereals,  cotton,  wool,  tobacco, 
and  sugar,  and  the  general  statistics  of  agriculture,  the  principal 
among  which  are  those  relating  to  areas,  numbers,  and  values  of 
farms,  the  extent  of  improved  land,  and  total  value  of  agricul 
tural  products.  These  figures  [ire  sufficient  for  a  clear  presenta 
tion  of  the  condition  and  growth  of  this  industry. 

Relative  Importance  of  Agriculture. — Considering 
the  number  of  persons  employed  and  supported,  agriculture  is 
still,  as  it  has  always  been,  the  leading  industry  of  the  United 
States.  In  18S()  forty-four  per  cent,  of  all  the  inhabitants  en 
gaged  in  gainful  occupations  were  devoted  to  agriculture,  and 
probably  at  the  present  time  the  proportion,  while  less,  has  not 
greatly  diminished.  Certainly  two-fifths  of  all  those  engaged  in 
gainful  occupations  are  concerned  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil, 
and  a  corresponding  proportion  of  the  total  population  is  sup 
ported  by  their  labor. 

But  if  the  value  of  product,  instead  of  persons  occupied,  be 
considered,  a  different  proportion  will  be  found.  The  value  of 
all  agricultural  products  in  1S80  was  $2,213,000,000.  In  1890 
it  had  increased  to  $2,460,000,000,  being  at  the  rate  of  only  a 


164  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

little  more  than  eleven  per  cent.,  a  rate  very  much  less  than  the 
rate  of  increase  of  population. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  the  estimated  net  value  of  manufact 
ures  in  1890  was  a  trifle  over  $4,000,000,000,  being  no  less  than 
thirty-three  per  cent,  greater  than  the  product  of  agriculture. 
Ten  years  before,  the  net  product  of  manufactures  was  $1,973,- 
000,000,  being  slightly  less  than  that  of  agriculture.  If  these 
estimates  are  correct,  manufactures  have,  during  the  past  dec 
ade,  passed  agriculture  in  importance,  as  measured  by  value  of 
product.  For  a  graphic  comparison  of  the  proportions  of  the 
leading  industries  in  1890,  see  diagram,  Plate  28. 

General  Statistics. — In  1880  the  number  of  farms  was, 
in  round  numbers,  4,000.000.  In  1890  it  was  4,565,000,  having 
increased  during  the  decade  at  the  rate  of  fourteen  per  cent. 
This,  which  is  also  much  less  than  the  rate  of  increase  of  popu 
lation,  indicates  that  the  accessions  to  our  numbers  during  the 
past  decade  have  been,  in  the  main,  additions  to  the  ranks  of 
other  avocations. 

The  value  of  farms  in  1880,  including  all  improvements,  was, 
in  round  numbers,  $10,200,000,000.  In  1890  this  item  had 
grown  to  $13,276,000,000,  showing  a  rate  of  increase  of  thirty 
per  cent.,  an  increase  greater  than  that  of  the  number  of  farms, 
thus  showing  a  decided  advance  in  the  average  value  of  farms. 

Farming  tools  and  machinery  had  a  value  in  1880  of  a  trifle 
over  $400,000,000.  The  same  item  had  a  value  in  1890  of 
$494,000,000.  or  nearly  twenty-four  per  cent,  greater. 

Hence  the  capital  invested  in  agriculture  in  1890  was  not  less 
than  $13,770,000,000;  and  this  capital  produced  a  return  in 
that  year,  of  $2,460,000,000,  or  less  than  eighteen  per  cent, 
upon  the  capital. 

Since  1850,  when  agricultural  statistics  were  obtained  for  the 
first  time,  the  average  size  of  farms  has  been  diminishing,  having 
decreased  from  203  acres  in  1850,  to  134  in  1880.  During  the 
last  decade  the  average  size  has  slightly  increased,  being  in 
1890  137  acres. 

In  1880  the  extent  of  cultivated  or  "  improved  "  land,  as  the 
census  designated  it,  was  285,000,000  acres.  Ten  years  later  this 
had  increased  to  358,000,000  acres,  or  about  560,000  square  miles. 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 
PLATE  28 


RELATIVE   VALUE   OF  THE    INDUSTRIES   OF 
THE    UNITED   STATES,    IN   1890 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 
PLATE  29 


1850 


1860 


1870 


1880 


The  areas  of  the  circles  represent  the  area  of  the  country, 

the  red  portions  the  cultivated  land,  and  the 

blue  portions  the  uncultivated  land. 


PROPORTION  OF  CULTIVATED  LAND  TO  TOTAL  AREA 
OF  THE  COUNTRY 


AGRICULTURE 


165 


In  other  words,  in  1890  a  trifle  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  total 
area  of  the  country,  excluding  Alaska,  was  under  cultivation. 

The  following  table  and  diagram,  together  with  the  diagram 
on  Plate  29,  facing  page  164,  summarizes  the  statistics  upon 
these  subjects  for  the  past  forty  years : 

VALUE,    NUMBER,    AND    SIZE    OF    FARMS.    AND    VALUE   OF 
PRODUCTS,  BY  DECADES 


1850 

18GO 

1870 

1880 

1890 

Value  of  farms,  implements 
and  machinery  (millions  of 
dollars)  .  ... 

3,424 
1,449,073 

203 

113 

6,891 
2,044,077 
199 

163 

7,700 
2,659,!>s5 

153 

189 

10,604 

4,008,907 
134 

285 
2,213 

13,770 
4,564,641 
137 

358 
2,460 

Number  of  farms  

Average  si/e  of  farms  (acres). 
Cultivated    land    (millions   of 
acres)                      .... 

Value  of  products  (millions  of 
dollars) 

BILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 
34567 


i  ) 


1850_ 
1860 

— 

— 

— 

• 

I 

1870 

1880 

1890 

VALUE  OF  FARMS,  IMPLEMENTS  AN D  MACHINERY 

2345  MILLIONS 


1850 

1860 

1870. 

1880 

1890___ 


NUMBER   OF    FARMS 

100 


1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

200  ACRES 


AVERAGE  SIZE  OF  FARMS,  185O  TO  1890 


156  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

Improved  Land. — The  proportion  between  the  cultivated 
laud  and  the  total  area  of  each  state,  follows  quite  closely  the 
density  of  population  of  the  states,  except  in  the  case  of  those 
most  densely  populated.  It  is  affected,  however,  quite  appreci 
ably  by  the  topography  of  the  state;  the  level  prairie  states, 
such  as  Illinois  and  Iowa,  having  a  higher  proportion  than  the 
adjacent  more  broken  ones. 

This  proportion  is  shown  by  the  map  on  Plate  30.  In  the 
states  and  territories  of  the  Rocky  mountain  region,  with  the 
exception  of  those  of  the  Pacific  coast  and  Colorado,  scarcely 
one  acre  in  a  hundred  is  cultivated.  In  Oregon,  Washington, 
Colorado,  Florida,  and  North  and  South  Dakota,  less  than  one 
acre  in  twenty  of  the  total  area  is  improved.  In  the  southern 
states  the  proportion  ranges  from  twelve  per  cent,  in  Texas  to 
sixty-one  per  cent,  in  Delaware,  the  proportion  increasing  north 
ward  and  eastward.  The  maximum  of  land  under  cultivation 
is  reached  in  the  prairie  region.  In  Illinois  and  Iowa  nearly 
three-fourths  of  the  total  area  is  cultivated,  in  Ohio  more  than 
two-thirds,  and  in  Indiana  three-fifths.  In  the  North  Atlantic 
states  about  two-fifths  of  the  land  is  under  cultivation,  although 
in  Maine  this  proportion  drops  to  less  than  one-sixth  of  the 
area. 

Tobacco. — Tobacco  is  produced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
in  forty-two  states  and  territories;  in  most  of  them,  however, 
only  in  small  quantity  for  local  consumption.  In  seventeen 
states  only  is  it  produced  in  commercial  quantity.  A  large  pro 
portion  of  the  supply,  nearly  one-half  the  crop  of  the  entire 
country,  comes  from  Kentucky.  This  state,  with  Virginia, 
Ohio,  North  Carolina.  Tennessee,  and  Pennsylvania,  produced 
in  1889  over  400.000,000  pounds,  out  of  a  total  production  of 
488,225,896  pounds,  or  not  less  than  eighty-two  per  cent.  In 
proportion  to  its  area  Connecticut  also  is  a  heavy  producer 
of  tobacco,  its  production  in  1889  reaching  nearly  9,000,000 
pounds ;  while  that  of  Wisconsin,  although  the  state  lies  very 
far  north  and  has  a  correspondingly  severe  climate,  reached  more 
than  19,000,000  pounds.  The  relative  importance  of  the  various 
states  in  the  production  of  tobacco  is  shown  by  the  map  on 
the  next  page. 


AGRICULTURE 


167 


YIELD  OF  TOBACCO,   IN    POUNDS,  PER  SQUARE  MILE  OFTOTAL 
AREA   IN  1889 

Wheat. — This  is  the  most  important  of  the  cereal  crops; 
important  not  only  to  the  United  States,  but  to  the  world  at 
large,  inasmuch  as  the  United  States  forms  the  principal  source 
of  wheat  supply  for  those  countries  that  are  unable  to  supply 
themselves. 

The  wheat  crop  of  the  United  States  in  the  year  1889  was 
•±08,000,000  bushels;  in  181)0,  399,000,000  bushels;  in  1891, 
612,000.000  bushels:  and  in  1892,  519.000,000  bushels.  The 
year  1891  was  an  exceedingly  prosperous  one  for  the  northern 
farmers:  not  only  were  their  cereal  crops  enormous,  but  the 
] trice  was  high,  owing  to  a  shortage  of  the  crops  in  Europe. 
This  great  yield  was  produced  mainly  in  tlie  northern  states  of 
the  Mississippi  valley.  New  England  lias  long  since  ceased  the 
attempt  to  supply  herself  with  wheat.  The  cotton  states  depend 
upon  their  northern  neighbors  for  their  supply,  but  the  northern 
central  states  produce  enough  for  themselves  and  have  to  spare 
for  the  rest  of  the  world. 

The  greatest  diversity  exists  in  the  yield  of  wheat  per  acre; 
a  diversity  attributable  mainly  to  the  degree  of  care  used  in 
cultivation.  Thus  the  small  supply  raised  in  the  northeastern 


168  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

states  shows  a  heavy  yield  per  acre,  ranging  from  fifteen  to  nine 
teen  bushels.  In  the  older  of  the  northern  central  states,  where 
the  farms  are  subdivided  into  small  holdings,  the  yield  is  almost 
equally  large,  ranging  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  bushels;  while 
in  the  Dakotas,  where  laud  is  cheap  and  wholesale  methods 
prevail,  and  where  the  aim  is  to  get  the  greatest  possible  yield 
with  the  least  amount  of  labor,  without  regard  to  area,  the  yield 
per  acre  is  small,  being  but  nine  bushels  in  North  Dakota  and 
but  seven  in  South  Dakota.  In  that  part  of  the  west  where  the 
land  requires  irrigation,  and  where  for  this  reason  the  holdings 
are  comparatively  small  and  cultivation  closer,  the  yield  is  large, 
running  as  high  as  twenty-two  bushels  per  acre  in  Nevada  and 
Colorado,  and  twenty-four  in  Montana.  The  other  extreme  is 
found  in  certain  of  the  cotton  states,  the  average  yield  in  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama  being  but  five  bushels  per  acre. 
The  production  of  wheat  per  square  mile  and  the  yield  per  acre, 
are  illustrated  by  the  maps  on  Plate  31. 

The  United  States  is  by  far  the  largest  wheat  producing 
country  of  the  globe.  In  1891  it  produced  612,000,000  bushels, 
while  India  produced  only  235,000.000  bushels,  France  231,000,- 
000  bushels,  Kussia  186,000,000  bushels,  Hungary  119,000,000 
bushels,  and  Italy  102,000,000  bushels. 

Corn. — Indian  corn  is  cultivated  to  an  enormous  extent  in 
the  United  States,  and  its  cultivation  is  very  widespread.  From 
Florida  and  Texas  to  Minnesota,  and  from  JvZaine  to  California, 
fields  of  maize  greet  the  eye  on  every  hand.  The  production  of 
the  country  in  1889  exceeded  two  thousand  million  bushels — 
2,121,798,728,  to  be  exact.  This  was  an  unusually  heavy  crop. 
In  1890  it  fell  to  1,490,000,000  bushels;  in  1891  it  rose  to 
2,060,000,000,  and  it  fell  again  in  1892  to  1,628,000,000  bushels. 
While  cultivation  of  corn  is  thus  widespread,  it  is  of  the  great 
est  importance  in  those  states  which  occupy  a  middle  position 
in  point  of  latitude — that  is,  in  New  Jersey  and  Maryland, 
and  westward  through  Kansas  and  Nebraska  to  the  Pacific 
coast — and  is  of  the  least  consequence  in  the  states  of  the 
extreme  north  and  of  the  extreme  south.  In  the  latter  states 
it  is  supplanted  to  a  considerable  extent  by  cotton,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  climate  of  the  extreme  northern  states 


THE  BUILD  I XG    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE   31 


PRODUCTION   OF  WHEAT,  IN   BUSHELS,   PZR  SQUARE  MILC  OFTOTAi 

AREA    IN   1320 


YIELD  OF  WHEAT  PER  ACRE,   IN   BUSHELS,   IN  1889 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   32 


PRODUCTION,   IN    BUSHELS,   OF  INDIAN   CORN    PER  SQUARE  MILE 
OF  TOTAL  AREA  IN  1889 


YIELD,    IN    BUSHELS,    OF  CORN    PER   ACRE    IN    I889 


THE  BUILD  IX  (r    OF  A    RATIOS' 
PLATE   33 


PRODUCTION,    IN    BUSHELS,    OF   OATS    PER    SQUARE     MILE    OF 
TOTAL  AREA  IN  1889 


YIELD,    IN    BUSHELS,    OF   OATS    PER    ACRE    IN    1889 


TV 


THE  BUILD  IS  G   OF  A   X AT  I  ON 
PLATE    34 


YIELD  OFCOTTON,    IN    BALES,   PER  SQUARE   MILE  OFTOTAL  AREA 

IN  1889 


YIELD  OF  COTTON    PER  ACRE,   IN  TENTHS  OF  BALES,   IN  1889 


0~  Twr      ' 


-<TY 


THE  liUILDIXCi    OF  A    NATION 
PLATE   35 


NUMBER    OF   TONS  OF  HAY    RAISED   PER   SQUARE    MILE   OF 
TOTAL  AREA   IN   1888 


NUMBER   OF  BUSHELS   OF  POTATOES   RAiSED  PER    SQUARE 
MILE  OFTOTAL  AREA   IN   1888 


AGRICULTURE  169 

is  too  severe  to  permit  its  cultivation  upon  an  extensive 
scale. 

The  yield  of  this  crop  per  acre  cultivated,  is  also  greatest  in 
the  middle  tier  of  states.  It  is  large  in  New  England  and  also 
in  New  York,  on  account  of  the  thorough  cultivation  practiced 
there.  At  the  south  it  is  small,  as  a  rule,  mainly  because  of 
careless  cultivation  or  exhausted  soil. 

The  corn  crop  is  used  directly  as  food  to  a  large  extent, 
especially  at  the  south  ;  and  it  contributes  indirectly  to  the  food 
supply,  to  a  still  larger  extent,  by  being  fed  to  cattle  and  hogs. 

The  importance  of  this  crop,  and  the  yield  per  acre,  are  illus 
trated  by  the  maps  on  Plate  32,  facing  page  168. 

Osits. — The  production  of  oats  has  increased  greatly  of  late 
years,  partly  at  the  expense  of  wheat  and  the  minor  cereals,  such 
as  barley  and  rye.  In  1889  the  total  product  far  exceeded  that 
of  wheat,  amounting  to  809,000,000  bushels.  In  18VJO  it  dimin 
ished  greatly,  being  but  524,000,000  bushels.  It  increased  in 
1891  to  738,000,000  bushels,  and  dropped  again  to  001,000,000 
bushels  in  1892.  Being  a  hardy  crop,  it  is  raised  almost  exclu 
sively  in  the  northern  states,  from  New  England  to  the  plains, 
and  to  the  greatest  extent  in  the  states  bordering  the  Great 
Lakes  and  in  the  prairie  states. 

The  same  states  show  also  the  greatest  yield  per  acre  culti 
vated,  ranging  as  high  as  thirty-nine  bushels  in  Iowa.  The 
yield  is  high  in  New  England,  and  very  low  in  the  southern 
states.  The  importance  of  the  crop  and  the  yield  per  acre  are 
shown  by  the  maps  on  Plate  33,  facing  page  168. 

The  other  cereals  are  of  minor  importance.  The  production 
of  rye  in  1889  was  428,421,413  bushels;  of  barley,  79,334,381 
bushels;  and  of  buckwheat,  12.107,785  bushels.  These  are  all 
hardy  crops,  and  are  produced  mainly  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  country. 

Cotton. — The  culture  of  cotton  is  confined  to  the  region 
lying  south  of  the  Potomac,  the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri  rivers. 
Within  this  area  the  principal  region  of  production,  where 
the  crop  acquires  its  greatest  prominence,  is  in  the  Carolinas, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  and  Arkansas. 

Cotton  holds  a  very  high  rank  among  agricultural  products, 


170 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


in  absolute  money  value  and  in  relative  importance  to  the  other 
crops  in  the  region  where  it  is  cultivated. 

The  crop  of  1892  was  the  largest  ever  raised,  reaching  a  total 
of  not  less  than  9,038,707  bales;  in  1891  it  was  8,655,518  bales, 
and  in  1890  7,313,726  bales,  as  appears  from  the  estimates  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

According  to  the  census  returns,  the  crop  of  1889  consisted  of 
7,434,687  bales,  which  was  somewhat  below  the  average  of  pre 
ceding  years.  This  product  was  distributed  as  follows  among 
the  contributing  states,  arranged  in  the  order  of  production: 

YIELD  OF  COTTON   IX   1889,    BY  STATES 


STATES 

Bales 

STATES 

Bales 

Texas 

1  470  353 

Tennessee 

189  072 

Georgia  

1,191  919 

Florida 

57  928 

Mississippi  

1  154  400 

Missouri 

14  401 

Alabama  

915,414 

Virginia  

South  Carolina  

746  798 

Kentucky  

873 

Arkansas             . 

691  423 

Oklahoma 

425 

Louisiana      .        .    . 

059  583 

Kansas 

212 

North  Carolina 

336  245 

7.434,687 

It  will  be  seen  that  Texas,  chiefly  because  of  its  enormous 
area,  produces  a  larger  amount  of  cotton  than  any  other  state. 
Next  in  rank  are  Georgia  and  Mississippi,  in  which,  most 
emphatically,  cotton  is  king.  In  the  border  states,  Missouri, 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  etc.,  this  crop  is  of  very  little  importance. 
The  entire  value  of  the  cotton  crop  of  1889  is  estimated  at  $375,- 
000,000. 

The  accompanying  maps,  on  Plate  34,  facing  page  168,  show, 
first,  the  relative  importance  of  the  cotton  crop  to  the  state,  as 
indicated  by  the  production  in  bales,  compared  with  the  area 
of  the  state  in  square  miles ;  and,  second,  the  production  of 
cotton  to  the  acre,  expressed  in  fractions  of  a  bale,  which  may 
perhaps  be  taken  to  indicate  the  relative  fertility  of  the  soil  and 
the  thoroughness  of  cultivation. 

The  latter  subject  was  discussed  by  Professor  Hilgard  in 
his  report  of  the  tenth  census,  and  he  showed  that  in  the  eastern 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   36 


PROPORTIONAL  VALUE  OF  THE   PRINCIPAL 
PRODUCTS  OF  AGRICULTURE  IN  1889 


THE 

^4Ur 


.1 G  RIG  UL  TURE  171 

and  western  cotton  states  the  yield  per  acre  cultivated  was 
greater  than  in  the  middle  states  of  that  region.  The  reason 
he  assigned  was,  that  in  the  eastern  states  cultivation  had  been 
going  on  so  long  that  it  had  become  necessary  to  fertilize  the 
fields,  which  had  largely  restored  them  to  their  original  fertility. 
In  the  middle  states  of  this  region  the  process  of  depleting  the 
soil  had  gone  on  to  a  considerable  extent,  but  renewal  by  means 
of  fertilizing  had  not  vet  commenced;  while  in  the  western  states 
the  soil  was  still,  to  a  great  extent,  in  its  originally  fertile  condi 
tion,  not  having  been  impoverished  by  continuous  cultivation. 

Hay. — Among  agricultural  products  hay  is  not  generally 
credited  with  the  high  rank  it  deserves.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  all  crops.  In  1888  the  product  amounted  to 
47,000,000  tons,  and  was  valued  at  $408,000,000.  It  is  too 
bulky  an  article  to  bear  long  distance  transportation,  even  when 
compressed  ;  therefore  it  is  chiefly  consumed  where  grown,  and 
is  at  last  disposed  of  mainly  in  the  form  of  beef,  mutton,  and 
pork.  The  bulk  of  the  crop  is  raised  in  the  North  Atlantic  and 
north  central  states,  but  little  comparatively  being  produced  at 
the  south  or  west.  The  greatest  quantity,  in  proportion  to  area, 
is  raised  in  Connecticut  and  New  York,  followed  closely  bv  Iowa 
and  Illinois.  This  distribution  is  brought  out  by  the  upper 
map  on  Plate  35,  facing  page  1G8,  showing  the  number  of  tons 
raised  per  square  mile  of  total  area. 

Potatoes. — The  Irishman's  staple  is  a  cosmopolite,  being 
cultivated  in  every  state  of  the  Union,  but  in  the  northern  states 
much  more  extensively  than  at  the  south  and  west,  as  appears 
by  the  lower  map  on  Plate  35,  facing  page  168.  The  production 
is  greatest  in  the  thickly  settled  states  of  the  North  Atlantic 
group,  in  several  of  which  it  exceeds  five  hundred  bushels  per 
square  mile  of  area.  In  1888  the  total  product  of  this  vegetable 
was  202,000,000  bushels,  valued  at  $81,000,000. 

The  diagram  on  Plate  36,  facing  page  170,  shows  the  relative 
importance  of  a  number  of  the  principal  crops  in  1889. 

Live  Stock  oil  Farms  and  Ranches. — The  total  num 
ber  of  farm  animals  in  1892  was  169,100,000,  and  their  value 
was  $2.461.000,000.  The  number  and  the  value  of  each  class 
are  set  forth  in  the  following  table : 


172 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A   NATION 


NUMBER  AND  VALUE  OF   FARM   ANIMALS  IN  1892 


Number 

Value 

II  orses 

15  500  000 

$1,008,000  000 

Mules 

2  300  000 

175,000,000 

Cows      

16,400,000 

351,000,000 

Other  cattle  

37,600,000  ' 

570,000,000 

Sheep 

44  900  000 

116  000  000 

Swine 

52  400  000 

241  000,000 

169,100,000 

$2,4(51,000,000 

Thus  it  appears  that  each  farm  possesses,  on  an  average,  about 
three  and  one  half  horses  or  mules,  eleven  head  of  cattle,  nine 
sheep,  arid  ten  and  one-half  swine ;  or,  altogether,  thirty-four 
head  of  live  stock,  valued  at  about  five  hundred  dollars. 

Distribution  of  Live  Stock. — The  maps  on  Plates  37 
and  38  illustrate  the  distribution  of  horses  and  mules,  cattle 
(including  milch  cows),  sheep,  and  swine,  on  farms  and  ranches, 
expressed  in  the  number  of  each  class  per  square  mile  of  area. 
This  distribution  follows  in  a  broad  way  that  of  the  rural  popu 
lation,  with  certain  distinctive  features.  Horses  and  mules  arc 
most  abundant  in  the  northern  states,  and  diminish  southward, 
while  at  the  west  they  are  comparatively  few  in  number.  They 
are  most  abundant  in  proportion  to  area,  in  the  prairie  states, 
ranging  from  twenty -three  per  square  mile  in  Illinois  and  Iowa, 
to  twenty  in  Indiana. 

Cattle  are  distributed  in  much  the  same  way,  as  a  rule,  but 
the  proportion  is  greater  at  the  west,  relatively,  than  in  the  case 
of  horses,'  the  number  being  swollen  by  the  immense  herds  on 
the  western  ranges,  as  in  the  case  of  Texas,  where  there  are 
thirty  cattle  to  the  square  mile.  The  maximum  is  reached  in 
Iowa,  with  over  seventy  to  the  square  mile. 

The  distribution  of  sheep  shows  several  marked  differences 
from  that  of  cattle.  The  densest  sheep  population  is  found  in 
Ohio,  where  there  are  one  hundred  and  nine  to  a  square  mile, 
nearly  three  times  as  many  as  in  any  other  state ;  while  at  the 
south  the  number  dwindles  to  six,  five,  and  two  to  a  square 
mile.  In  certain  western  states  the  great  herds  bring  up  the 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A    NATION 
PLATE   37 


NUMBER  OF  HORSES  AND   MULES   PER  SQUARE  MILE   IN  1892 


NUMBER    OF  CATTLE    PER   SQUARE    MILE    IN    1892 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A    NATION 
PLATE   38 


NUMBER    OF   SHEEP    PER    SQUARE    MILE    IN    1892 


NUMBER    OF    HOGS    PER    SQUARE    MILE    IN    1892 


.1  GRIG  UL  TURE  173 

density  to  quite  large  figures,  in  spite  of  the  sparse  population. 
Thus  in  California  there  are  twenty-six,  in  Oregon  twenty-five, 
in  New  Mexico  and  Utah  twenty-four,  and  in  Texas  nineteen, 
to  a  square  mile. 

In  the  raising  of  pork  New  England  and  the  west  scarcely 
figure  at  all.  The  northern  states  of  the  Mississippi  valley  are 
the  most  densely  populated  with  hogs.  Iowa  has  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  to  a  square  mile,  Illinois  eighty-five,  Indiana 
seventy,  and  Ohio  sixty-nine.  Thence  southward  the  number 
decreases,  the  razor-backs  of  Mississippi,  Georgia,  and  Alabama 
numbering  twenty-eight  to  the  square  mile. 

Irrigation. — In  the  states  and  territories  of  the  Cordilleran 
region,  with  the  exception  of  western  Washington  and  Oregon 
and  northwestern  California,  the  rainfall  is  generally  insufficient 
for  the  needs  of  agriculture,  and  throughout  this  region  irriga 
tion  is  commonly  practiced.  This  area,  in  which  the  fanner  is 
dependent  mainly  upon  the  streams  for  a  water  supply,  comprises 
about  one  and  one-fourth  million  square  miles,  or  two-fifths  of 
the  area  of  the  United  States,  excluding  Alaska.  The  possible 
water  supply  from  this  source,  supposing  it  to  be  entirely  utilized 
and  with  the  utmost  economy,  cannot,  it  is  estimated,  supply 
more  than  one-tenth  of  the  land,  only  a  small  part  of  that 
which,  aside  from  the  question  of  water  supply,  is  arable. 

In  this  region  irrigation,  although  practiced  for  many  years,  is 
still  in  its  infancy.  Only  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  area 
is  under  irrigation.  With  few  exceptions,  no  attempts  have  yet 
been  made  to  store  the  waters  of  the  spring  Hoods.  Wasteful 
systems  of  irrigation  have  grown  up,  due  to  the  want  of  broad, 
intelligent  plans  at  the  outset:  and  an  enormous  waste  of  water 
goes  on,  owing  to  badly  devised  forms  of  contract  between  the 
water  companies  and  the  farmers.  The  usual  agreement  is  to 
supply  water  for  the  irrigation  of  a  certain  number  of  acres,  not 
to  supply  a  certain  amount  of  water,  to  be  applied  by  the  farmer 
to  as  many  or  as  few  acres  as  he  may  judge  best.  A  contract 
calling  for  a  given  quantity  of  water  would  infallibly  lead  to 
great  economy  in  its  use,  and  to  an  increase  in  its  duty.  This 
u  duty,"  by  which  is  understood  the  number  of  acres  irrigated 
bv  a  flow  throughout  the  season  of  one  cubic  foot  of  water  per 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


second,  ranges  widely  at  the  west,  from  thirty  or  forty  up  to  one 
thousand  acres,  depending  upon  the  crop,  the  soil,  the  rainfall, 
and  the  experience  and  economy  of  the  irrigator.  The  duty 
has  been  commonly  assumed  at  one  hundred  acres,  as  an  aver 
age  ;  but  as  irrigation  has  developed,  the  duty  has  risen,  and  it 
seems  probable  that  an  average  of  two  hundred  acres  will  soon 
be  reached. 

The  following  table  shows  the  area  irrigated  in  each  state  and 
territory,  with  the  proportion  which  it  bears  to  the  total  area  of 
the  state.  From  this  it  appears  that  Colorado  leads,  with  one 
and  one-third  per  cent.,  and  that  California  is  second,  with  one 
per  cent 

IRRIGATED  AREA  AND  TOTAL   AREA  COMPARED 


AREA  IRRIGATED 

Acres 

Per  cent,    of   total 
area  of  State 

65,821 
1,004,233 
890,735 
217,005 
350,582 
224,403 
91,745 
177,944 
263,473 
48,799 
229,676 

0.09 
1.01 
1.34 
0.40 
0.38 
0.32 
0.12 
0.39 
0.50 
0.23 
0.37 

Colorado                                     .     .             . 

Idaho                    

Montana      

Nevada      

New  Mexico 

Oregon 

Utah 

Washington         .     .                 

Wyoming      

Total              

3,564,416 

0.50 

The  average  first  cost  of  irrigation  works  is  $8.15  per  acre. 
To  this  must  be  added  the  cost  of  bringing  the  land  under  culti 
vation,  which  is  placed  at  $12.12.  The  average  yearly  expense 
of  maintaining  the  works  is  $1.07  per  acre. 

The  average  value  of  irrigated  lands  is  $83.28  per  acre,  and 
the  value  of  the  product  in  1889  was  $14.89  per  acre. 

Thus  it  appears  that,  since  the  land  costs  practically  nothing, 
the  business  of  constructing  irrigation  works  and  placing  land 
under  irrigation  is,  on  the  whole,  a  very  profitable  one.  More- 


AGRICULTURE  175 

over,  it  is  argued  that  these  western  lands,  though  requiring 
irrigation,  are  more  profitable  for  the  fanner  than  eastern  lands 
which  are  blessed  with  an  ample  rainfall.  The  cost  of  prepar 
ing  the  latter  for  the  plow  is  enhanced  not  only  by  the  necessity 
of  clearing  the  forest  from  them,  but  also  by  that  of  fertilizing 
them,  a  necessity  from  which  the  western  farmer  is  relieved, 
since  the  irrigation  water  constantly  supplies  fertilizing  ma 
terial. 

Artesian  wells  are  used  as  sources  of  water  supply  for  irriga 
tion  in  certain  parts  of  the  west,  especially  for  valuable  crops, 
such  as  those  of  vineyards  and  market  gardens.  Altogether 
there  are  nearly  four  thousand  such  wells  in  use,  irrigating 
fifty-two  thousand  acres,  an  average  of  about  thirteen  acres 
per  well.  This  method  is  expensive,  its  cost  averaging  nearly 
twenty  dollars  per  acre,  and  owing  partly  to  the  expense  and 
partly  to  the  necessarily  limited  supply  of  underground  water, 
it  cannot  become  an  important  source  of  supply. 


MANUFACTURES 


ALTHOUGH  it  is  well  known  that  the  United  States  is  far 
ahead  of  other  countries  in  respect  of  the  agricultural  industry, 
and  that  its  mineral  product  greatly  exceeds  that  of  any  other, 
it  is  not  so  generally  known  that  this  is  also  the  leading  manu 
facturing  nation  of  the  globe.  The  impression  prevails  that 
our  manufacturing  industries,  as  compared  with  those  of  the 
mother  country,  are  in  an  infantile  stage  and  require  careful 
nursing  to  enable  them  to  retain  the  breath  of  life;  therefore, 
it  will  doubtless  surprise  the  majority  of  people  to  know  that 
as  a  manufacturing  nation  the  United  States  is  far  in  the  lead. 
According  to  Mulhall,  its  manufactures  exceed  those  of  the 
mother  country  in  the  proportion  of  seven  to  four,  and  are 
increasing  at  a  rate  which,  if  maintained  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  will  make  the  United  States  as  important  a  source  of 
supply  for  manufactured  articles  as  it  is  now  of  agricultural 
products. 

General  Statistics. — Manufactures  have  had  a  very  rapid 
development.  The  first  statistics  of  this  branch  of  industry 
were  obtained  in  1850,  when  it  was  found  that  the  capital 
invested  was  slightly  more  than  half  a  billion  of  dollars.  In 
1890,  forty  years  later,  the  invested  capital  exceeded  six  billions. 
Wages  had  increased  from  two  hundred  and  thirty -seven  mil 
lions  to  two  billions  of  dollars.  The  material  used  increased 
from  five  hundred  and  fifty-five  millions  to  nearly  five  billions 
of  dollars,  the  gross  value  of  the  product  from  a  trifle  over  a 
billion  to  nearly  nine  and  four-tenths  billions,  and  the  net  value 
of  the  product  from  four  hundred  and  sixty -four  millions  to  four 
and  four-tenths  billions.  The  figures  for  each  census  are  given 
in  the  following  table,  expressed  in  millions  of  dollars,  and  in 
thousands  of  hands  employed. 


MANUFACTURES 


111 


STATISTICS   OF  MANUFACTURES   FROM   1850  TO   1890,  BY 
DECADES 


YEAR 

Capital 

Hands 

Wages 

Material 

Gross  Product 

Net  Product 

1850 

533 

957 

237 

555 

1  019 

464 

1860  
1870*  

1,C10 

1,092 

1.311 
2  055 

379 
500 

1,031 

2  000 

1,886 
3  384 

855 
1  384 

1880  
1890 

2.780 
0  180 

2,739 
4  665 

948 
2  000 

3,397 
5  000 

5,370 
9  400 

1,973 
4  400 

*  The  figures  for  1870  have  been  reduced  to  gold. 

The  figures  for  1*90  are  only  approximate,  being  deduced 
from  statistics  covering  about  one-half  of  the  entire  capital, 
wages,  material,  and  product.  It  is  improbable,  however,  that 
the  final  statistics  will  materially  change  the  results,  or  the  con 
clusions  derived  from  them. 

The  rapid  development  of  manufacturing  industries  is  in 
obedience  to  economic  laws  already  alluded  to.  The  countrv  is 
rapidly  filling  up,  especially  in  the  northeastern  states,  and  as 
the  population  becomes  more  and  more  dense,  it  passes  the  point 
at  which  it  can  be  sustained  bv  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
Other  forms  of  industry,  especially  those  requiring  the  aggre 
gation  of  people,  become  necessary;  and  hence  \ve  find  that  all 
through  this  part  of  the  country  the  people  are  leaving  the  plow 
for  the  shop.  They  are  making  things  instead  of  raising  things. 
In  the  northeastern  states  agriculture  has  made  little  progress 
during  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  while  manufactures  have 
made  enormous  strides.  Moreover,  the  field  of  manufactures  is 
increasing  year  bv  year.  The  frontier  of  the  manufacturing 
industry  is  spreading  westward  and  southward.  In  the  ten 
years  just  passed,  the  south  has  made  enormous  strides  in  manu 
factures.  The  bulk  of  the  increase  in  the  cotton  manufacturing 
industry  has  taken  place  in  the  southern  states  where  the  cotton 
is  raised.  The  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  is  also  increasing 
in  that  section  with  wonderful  rapidity.  Another  Pennsylvania 
is  growing  up  in  the  mountains  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line,  and  in  the  iron  industry  will  soon  rival  if  not  surpass  that 
great  state. 
12 


178  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

The  preceding  table,  which  gives  a  summary  of  the  principal 
items  relating  to  manufactures  for  the  past  forty  years,  is  full  of 
information  concerning  this  great  industry.  A  few  deductions 
from  it  will  prove  of  interest.  Coupled  with  the  enormous 
extension  of  manufacturing  industries  has  been  a  rapid  concen 
tration  of  them.  The  number  of  establishments  has  not  in 
creased  as  rapidly,  by  any  means,  as  the  manufacturing  capital, 
for  the  average  capital  of  each  factory  has  grown  from  $4,000 
in  1850  to  about  $15,000  in  1890,  as  appears  from  the  following 
table: 

AVERAGE  CAPITAL  INVESTED  IN  EACH  ESTABLISHMENT 

1850 $4,000 

1860 7,200 

1870 6,800 

1880  11,000 

1890 15,000 

The  average  yearly  wages  of  employes  have  also  increased 
almost  continuously  since  1850,  the  average  in  1890  being  $429 
as  contrasted  with  $247  forty  years  earlier.  These  facts  are  set 
forth  in  the  following  table  : 

AVERAGE  WAGES  PER  HAND  EMPLOYED 


I860  

290 

1870  

243 

1880 

346 

1890."... 

429 

The  proportion  of  the  net  product  of  manufactures  received 
by  employes  in  the  form  of  wages,  has  ranged  from  thirty-six  to 
fifty -one  per  cent. ;  it  was  but  little  less  in  1890  than  in  1850, 
despite  the  immense  increase  in  capital  and  the  introduction  of 
machinery.  Indeed,  while  the  capital  was  nearly  twelve  times 
as  large  in  1890  as  in  1850,  the  number  of  hands  was  less  than 
five  times  as  great.  The  proportions  of  the  net  product  which 
came  to  capital  and  to  labor,  are  set  forth  in  the  following  table : 


MANUFACTURES 


179 


PROPORTIONS  OF  NET  PRODUCT  SHARED  BY  EMPLOYES 
AND   BY   CAPITAL 


Employes 

Capital 

1850 

51 

40 

I860   

44 

50 

1870 

36 

64 

1880 

48 

52 

1800 

45 

55 

A  comparison  of  the  net  product  with  the  amount  of  capital 
invested,  has  produced  the  table  below:  it  shows  that  the  pro 
portion  between  capital  and  product  has  steadily  diminished 
since  1850,  from  eighty  per  cent,  down  to  seventy-one  per  cent. 
Tn  the  same  table  is  a  column  showing  the  proportion  which 
the  net  product,  minus  wages,  bears  to  capital ;  from  which  it 
appears  that  this  proportion,  while  it  has  not  greatly  changed, 
has  slightly  diminished  during  the  forty  years  under  considera 
tion. 


IJATIO   OF   XKT    PKOW'CT   TO   CAPITAL 


1850 

18(50 

1870 

1 880 

181)0  . . 


Proportion  of  Net  Product 
to  Capital 


87 
85 
82 
71 
71 


Proportion  of  Net  Product, 
Minus  Wa^es,  to  Capital 


43 
47 
52 
37 
39 


The  diagram  on  page  ISO  shows  the  products  of  manufac 
tures,  expressed  in  millions  of  dollars,  of  the  leading  cities  of 
the  country  in  1890.  It  wrill  be  seen  that  New  York,  our  great 
est  commercial  city,  is  also  incomparably  our  greatest  manufac 
turing  city  ;  that  Chicago  is  second,  leading  Philadelphia.  Then 
there  follows  a  great  gap,  Brooklyn  having  less  than  half  the 
manufactures  of  Philadelphia  ;  Milwaukee  stands  very  high,  and 
Washington  very  low,  in  proportion  to  their  population. 


180 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 
150     225     300     375      450     525     600      675     750 


NEW  YORK  
CHICAGO                             

I— 

— 

— 

-^ 

PHILADELPHIA  

BROOKLYN 

= 

= 

= 

c- 

ST   LOUIS 

~ 

™ 

™ 

• 

BOSTON 

~ 

^^ 

^ 

1 

CINCINNATI 

^^^_ 

BALTIMORE 

~ 

^™ 

• 

SAN  FRANCISCO 

CLEVELAND 

BUFFALO  . 

MILWAUKEE  

PITTSBURG  

NEWARK  

DETROIT 

MINNEAPOLIS 

ROCHESTER 

PROVIDENCE.  

™"* 

JERSEY  CITY  

^^™ 

LOUISVILLE  

WASHINGTON 

^™ 

OMAHA... 

^m 

NEW  ORLEANS 

*™ 

INDIANAPOLIS.... 

KANSAS  CITY  

ST.  PAUL 

^ 

DENVER 

"" 

ALLEGHENY.,. 

PRODUCTS   OF   MANUFACTURES    IN    LEADINC  CITIES    IN    189O 

Iron  and  Steel  Manufactures. — Of  all  the  branches  of 
manufactures  this  has  claimed  and  received  the  fullest  protec 
tion  which  can  be  afforded  by  a  protective  tariff.  There  has 
never  been  a  moment,  from  the  time  when  the  first  iron  furnace 
was  established  to  the  present,  when  this  industry  was  not  in 
danger  of  being  overwhelmed  and  swallowed  up  by  the  rapacity 
of  the  iron  men  of  Great  Britain.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  popular 
idea.  Since  we  are  engaged  in  idol  breaking,  let  us  see  how 
much  truth  there  is  in  it.  How  far  inferior  to  the  mother 
country  are. we  in  the  production  and  manufacture  of  iron  and 
steel?  Twenty  years  ago,  in  1872,  she  produced  nearly  three 
times  as  much  iron,  while  our  production  of  steel  bore  no 
appreciable  proportion  to  hers.  In  1890-1-2  we  produced 
twelve  per  cent  more  iron  than  Great  Britain  ;  while  in  the  pro 
duction  of  steel  we  passed  her  in  1886,  and  now  produce  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  more  than  she  does.  Thus  it  would  seem  that  she 
is  rather  in  need  of  protection  against  our  overgrown  industries. 

The  accompanying  diagram  rehearses  the  history  of  the  iron 
and  steel  production  of  this  country  for  the  past  twenty  years. 
The  increase  since  1872,  in  the  production  of  pig-iron,  was  from 


MANUFACTURES 


181 


2,500,000  tons  to  nearly  10,000,000,  and  of  steel  from  160,000 
tons  to  5,000,000.  The  production  of  both  iron  and  steel  has 
been  greater  during  the  year  1892  than  in  any  previous  one, 
and  this  in  spite  of  the  low  price  of  these  metals. 


RON 


STEEL 


1872      1874     1876      1878      1880     1882     1884      1886      .1888     1890      1892 
ANNUAL  PRODUCTION  OF  IRON  AND  STEEL 

The  manufacture  of  steel  by  the  Bessemer  process  began  in 
1867,  and  has  increased  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  until  in  the 
past  year  the  production  amounted  to  nearly  4,500,000  tons, 
being  by  far  the  greater  part  of  all  steel  produced  in  that  vear. 

The  rails  used  in  laying  our  first  railways  were  of  iron,  and  it- 
is  within  the  time  of  the  present  generation  that  steel  rails  were 
first  employed.  Their  use  has  increased  to  such  an  extent,  how 
ever,  that  they  have  almost  entirely  supplanted  iron  rails,  and 
the  manufacture  of  steel  rails  for  both  steam  and  street  railways 
has  become  an  enormous  industry.  In  1892  nearly  1,500,000 
tons  of  steel  rails  were  manufactured,  while  the  manufacture  of 
iron  rails  has  almost  entirely  disappeared. 

A  similar  change  has  taken  place  in  the  matter  of  nails.     The 


182  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

maximum  production  of  cut  nails  has  probably  been  reached 
and  passed,  while  the  manufacture  of  wire  nails  is  increasing 
with  great  rapidity,  and  they  will  doubtless  virtually  supplant 
cut  nails  in  the  near  future. 

On  June  30,  1890,  there  were  in  the  United  States  562  blast 
furnaces;  of  these,  224  were  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  At 
the  same  date  there  were  158  steel  works,  half  of  which  were  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Cotton  Industry. — The  cotton  industry  is  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  country.  It  is  widely  dispersed,  cotton  manufac 
tures  being  found  in  most  of  the  states ;  but  its  principal  seat  is 
in  New  England,  where  63  per  cent,  of  the  cotton  manufacturing 
of  the  country  is  carried  on.  Next  in  importance  are  the  south 
ern  states,  with  23  per  cent.,  or  nearly  one-fourth.  The  number 
of  factories  in  1880  was  756 ;  ten  years  later  it  had  increased  to 
904;  about  one-half  of  this  increase  was  in  the  southern  states, 
where  the  industry  has  developed  with  great  rapidity.  In  1880 
the  capital  invested  in  cotton  manufacturing  was  $208,000,000, 
and  in  1890  it  was  $354,000,000,  having  increased  70  per  cent, 
or  at  a  much  more  rapid  rate  than  the  number  of  establishments, 
thus  illustrating  the  greater  centralization  of  the  industry.  An 
other  expression  of  this  fact  is  seen  in  the  average  capital  per 
factory,  which  in  1880  was  $275,000,  and  had  increased  in  1890 
to  $392,000.  The  number  of  hands  employed  in  1880  was 
174,659,  and  in  1890  the  number  was  221,585,  an  increase  of  27 
per  cent.  During  the  same  period  wages  had  advanced  57  per 
cent.—/,  e.,  from  $42,000,000  to  $66,000,000— showing  a  notable 
increase  in  the  average  pay  of  the  employes.  The  materials 
used  had  a  value  in  1880  of  $102,000,000,  and  in  1890  of  $155,- 
000,000,  an  increase  of  51  per  cent;  and  the  product  rose  in  the 
same  time  from  $192,000,000  to  $268,000,000,  which  was  at  the 
rate  of  40  per  cent. 

Wool  Industry. — The  wool  industry  is  strongly  estab 
lished.  Its  factories  are  located  almost  entirely  in  New  England, 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  In  1890  they  num 
bered  2,503,  as  against  2,689  in  1880,  a  marked  diminution  in 
number.  On  the  other  hand,  the  capital  invested  in  1890  was 
$297,000,000,  as  against  $159,000,000  ten  years  earlier.  Thus, 


MANUFACTURES  183 

while  the  factories  have  been  reduced  in  number,  the  amount  of 
capital  has  been  almost  doubled,  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
tendency  toward  aggregation  in  this  as  well  as  other  industries. 
The  number  of  hands  employed  increased  from  166,557  in  1880, 
to  221,087  in  1890  ;  the  wages,  from  $47,000.000  to  $77,000,000, 
showing  not  only  a  large  increase  in  total  wages  paid,  but  an 
increase  in  the  wages  paid  per  hand.  Between  1880  and  1890, 
the  gross  product  of  the  wool  manufacturing  industry  increased 
from  $267,000,000  to  §838,000,000,  a  gain  of  27  per  cent.;  while 
the  net  product,  by  which  is  meant  the  gross  product  less  the 
cost  of  the  raw  material,  was  scarcely  increased  at  all,  notwith 
standing  the  above-mentioned  increase  of  62  percent,  in  the  total 
amount  of  wages  paid. 

Silk  Industry. — Until  recently  the  manufacture  of  silk 
was  one  of  the  Republic's  babies.  It  had  been  carefully  nursed 
and  coddled,  and  for  a  long  time  seemed  likely  to  die  of  aiuemia. 
Recently,  however,  it  has  taken  a  new  lease  of  life,  and  now 
appears  able  to  stand  alone.  During  the  past  ten  years  the 
industry  has  doubled.  In  1S90  its  establishments  numbered 
472,  with  a  capital  of  §51,000,000.  It  employed  over  50.000 
hands,  and  paid  them  wages  to  the  extent  of  $19,700,000;  and 
the  product  of  the  factories  was  yalued  at  §87,000,000. 

Books,  Periodicals,  and  Newspapers. — *'  Of  making 
manv  books  there  is  no  end.'1  If  this  was  true  when  first  writ 
ten,  how  much  more  true  is  it  to-day,  and  of  America!  Our 
market  for  literature  is  the  best  in  the  world,  and  the  supply  is 
equal  to  the  demand.  The  number  of  books  published  here  is 
not  greatly  in  excess  of  the  number  published  in  Great  Britain, 
the  total  in  1891  being  4,665,  exclusive  of  cheap  editions,  as 
against  4.429  in  the  mother  country.  The  excess  is  seen  rather 
in  the  enormous  amount  of  periodical  literature.  In  1891  19,373 
periodicals  of  all  classes  were  published  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada;  of  these  837  were  Canadian,  leaving  18.536  for  the 
United  States. 

The  following  table  shows  the  grouping  of  the  whole  number, 
as  to  the  period  of  publication,  and  also  the  average  and  total 
circulation  of  each  group : 


184 


THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 


NUMBER  AND  CIRCULATION  OF  PERIODICALS,   BY  CLASSES 


CIRCULATION 

Total 

Average 

Weekly            

14,000 

26,638,250 

1,903 

Monthly   

2  625 

11,734,750 

4,470 

Dcaily  

1,791 

7,685,000 

4,300 

327 

1,487,500 

4,549 

Seini-  weekly 

238 

434,250 

1,824 

Quarterly 

180 

451  750 

2,509 

Bi-weekly  . 

90 

210  250 

2,336 

Bi-monthly    

70 

166,250 

2,188 

Tri-weekly  

46 

48,400 

1,054 

Total 

19,373 

48  856,500 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  total  circulation  of  all  periodicals, 
per  issue,  is  three-fourths  of  the  number  of  the  total  population 
of  the  United  States. 

Spirits,  Wines,  and  Malt  Liquors. — It  has  been  said 
that,  in  the  olden  time,  no  southerner  was  thought  to  be  a 
gentleman  who  did  not  get  drunk  at  least  once  a  week.  It  is 
perhaps  safe  to  conclude  that  matters  were  much  the  same  at 
the  north  in  colonial  days,  judging  from  the  quantity  of  New 
England  rum  that  was  consumed  at  house-raisings  and  kindred 
gatherings.  There  has  been  a  great  improvement  in  this  regard 
within  the  century ;  but  a  vast  amount  of  liquor  of  one  sort  or 
another  is  still  produced  and  disposed  of. 

The  following  table  shows  the  product  of  spirituous  and  malt 
liquors  in  the  year  1891  alone : 


SPIRITUOUS  AND  MALT  LIQUORS  PRODUCED  IN  1891 

Whisky 44,316,804  gallons. 

Alcohol 12,260,821 

Rum 1,784,312 

Wines 24,306,905 

Fruit  brandy 1,223,775 

Beer 30,021,079  barrels. 


MANUFACTURES  185 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  product  for  this  single  year  aggre 
gated  more  than  a  gallon  of  spirits  and  nearly  half  a  barrel  of 
beer  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  nation.  It  is 
gratifying  to  observe,  however,  that  the  use  of  malt  liquors 
is  increasing  rapidly  among  all  classes,  and  that  these,  together 
with  light  wines,  are  gradually  displacing  the  great  American 
beverage. 


MINERAL    RESOURCES 


BENEATH  the  surface  of  our  country  lies  hidden  wealth  of 
almost  incalculable  value.  The  mineral  deposits  are  enor 
mous  and  of  the  most  varied  character.  Nearly  every  mineral 
and  metal  valuable  in  the  arts,  is  mined  within  our  limits. 

The  value  of  the  total  mineral  product  of  the  United  States 
in  the  year  1891,  as  appears  from  the  statistics  collected  by  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  footed  up  the  enormous  total 
of  $668,524,537 ;  of  this  a  little  less  than  one-half  consisted  of 
metals,  and  a  little  more  than  one-half  of  non-metallic  substances. 
The  following  tables  show  the  principal  items  of  mineral  pro 
duction,  expressed  in  quantities  and  values,  and  the  diagram 
illustrates  their  relative  values. 

As  will  be  seen,  the  value  of  coal,  anthracite  and  bituminous, 
is  greater  than  that  of  all  other  non-metallic  substances  together. 


QUANTITY  AND  VALUE    OF   NON-METALLIC   PRODUCTS 

IN   1891 


Quantity 

Value 

105,291,721  long  tons. 

$117,106,483 

Pennsylvania  anthracite 

45  236  992  long  tons 

73  943  735 

Building  stone 

47294,746 

Petroleum  ... 

54  291  980  barrels. 

32,575,188 

Lime  

60  000  000  barrels 

35,000,000 

Natural  gas  

18,000,000 

Cement  

8,222,792  barrels. 

6,680,951 

Salt  .  .  . 

9  987  945  barrels 

4.716,121 

Phosphate  rock  

587  988  long  tons. 

3,651,150 

Mineral  waters  

18,392,732  gallons  sold. 

2,996,259 

MINERAL  RESOURCES 


187 


QUANTITY  AND   VALUE   OP   METALLIC   PRODUCTS  IN  1891 


Quantity 

Value 

Pig  iron,  value  at  Philadelphia  
Silver  coinin<r  value 

8,279,870  long  tons. 
58  300  000  Trov  ounce* 

$128,337,985 
75  410  505 

Gold,  coining  value  
Copper,  value  at  Xe\v  York  City.  .  .  . 
Lead  value  at  New  York  Citv 

1.004,840  Trov  ounces. 
295.810,070  pounds. 
202  400  *hort  ton* 

33.175,000 
38,455,300 
17  009  3-)0 

Zinc  value  at  New  York  C'il  v 

80  08  7  short  ton* 

8  033  700 

Quicksilver,  value  at  San  Francisco. 

22,904  flasks. 

1,030,380 

MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 


c 
COAL 

' 

1C 

411212 

I 

8  1361441E 

'  II 

II 

PIG  IRON                                                 Ml 

SILVER                                                  *™ 

J_ 

__ 

BUILDING  STONE 

: 

• 

01 

Ml 

mm 
• 

| 

: 

mm 

mm 
mm 
mm 

E 

am 

mm 
m 

j 

• 

- 

• 

LIME 

GOLD 

PETROLEUM 

COPPER 

NATURAL  GAS.  

LEAD   

ZINC      _     .. 

CEMENT 

SALT 

LIMESTONE  . 

PHOSPHATE  ROCK    „_ 

MINERAL  WATERS 

ZINC  WHITE    .. 

QUICKSILVER 

VALUE  OF  PRINCIPAL  MINERAL  PRODUCTS  IN  1889 

Coal.  -  Of  all  our  mineral  products,  coal  is  probably  the  most 
widely  distributed.  It  occurs  in  three-fourths  of  the  states  and 
territories,  and  is  mined  in  thirty,  or  three-fifths  of  them.  The 
total  product  of  coal  for  1891  was  150,52S,713  long  tons  ;  of  this 
45.236,992  tons  were  Pennsylvania  anthracite,  the  remainder 
consisting  almost  entirely  of  bituminous  coal. 

Of  the  world's  coal  product,  amounting  to  a  little  over  half  a 


188 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


billion  short  tons,  that  of  the  United  States  was  almost  precisely 
one-third.  Great  Britain  is  the  only  country  that  exceeded  the 
United  States  in  the  coal  output  of  1891,  her  total  being  185,- 
479,126  short  tons. 

Nearly  all  the  anthracite  coal  of  the  country  is  produced  from 
a  limited  region  in  the  eastern  part  of  Pennsylvania.  A  trifling 
amount  is  mined  in  Rhode  Island  and  Colorado,  and  a  little  is 
produced  from  two  or  three  other  limited  fields. 

The  deposits  in  Pennsylvania  have  been  worked  continuously 
since  1820.  The  demands  upon  them  and  the  output  have 
increased  year  by  year,  until,  as  already  stated,  this  small  area 
produced  in  1891  the  vast  quantity  of  45,236,992  long  tons. 
Their  product  since  1820  has  reached  the  enormous  total  of 
853,000,000  tons. 

Bituminous  coal  exists  in  all  varieties,  from  what  may  be 
denominated  semi -anthracite,  through  all  grades  of  softness  to 
lignite.  The  deposits  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  and  in 
the  Mississippi  valley  are  of  the  carboniferous  age,  and  as  a  rule 
the  coal  is  harder  than  that  in  the  Eocky  mountain  region, 
which  is  of  the  tertiary  or  cretaceous  age,  and  in  many  localities 
grades  into  lignite.  The  following  table  shows  the  production  of 
bituminous  coal  in  the  various  states  for  the  year  1891 : 

COAL   PRODUCT   OF  THE  SEVERAL   STATES   IN  1891 


STATES 

Total    Amount 
Produced 

STATES 

Total  Amount 
Produced 

Alabama  

(Short  Tons) 
4,759,781 

New  Mexico  

(Short  Tons) 
462  3°8 

Arkansas 

542  379 

North  Carolina 

20  355 

California 

93  301 

North  Dakota 

30  000 

3  512,632 

Ohio 

1°  868  683 

Georgia  

171,000 

Oregon 

51  8°0 

Illinois  

15,600.698 

Pennsylvania  

42  788  490 

Indiana  

2,973,474 

Rhode  Island  

500 

Indian  Territory  

1,091,032 

Tennessee  

2  413,678 

Iowa 

3  825  495 

Texas 

172  100 

Kansas     

2,716  705 

Utah 

371  045 

Kentucky  

2  916  069 

Virginia 

736  399 

M  ;i  t'vlaiid 

3  820  239 

Washington 

1  056  249 

M  iohigan 

80  307 

West  Virginia 

9  220  665 

Missouri 

2  674  606 

WVoining 

2  327  841 

Montana 

541  861 

Nebraska 

1  500 

Total 

117  901  238 

MINERAL  RESOURCES  189 

Of  the  total  product,  more  than  one-third  comes  from  the 
single  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  about  one-half  from  the  two 
states  of  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois.  Eight  states— namely, 
Alabama,  Colorado.  Illinois,  Iowa,  Maryland,  Ohio,  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  West  Virginia — produce  four-fifths  of  the  entire 
bituminous  coal  output. 

Iron. — Iron  ore,  like  coal,  is  very  widely  distributed.  There 
are  few  states  or  territories  in  which  it  does  not  occur,  and  in 
1890  it  was  mined  commercially  in  twenty-eight  of  them. 
Again,  as  in  the  case  of  coal,  its  profitable  mining  depends  upon 
the  existence  of  facilities  for  reaching  the  market.  The  produc 
tion  of  pig  iron  in  Is91  was  8,279,870  tons,  a  reduction  of  nearly 
1,000,000  tons  below  the  product  of  the  preceding  year;  this 
reduction  was  due  to  the  low  price  of  iron,  which  had  thrown 
many  furnaces  out  of  blast. 

The  principal  ores  of  iron  are  the  sesquioxide  and  the 
hvdrated  sesquioxide.  The  former,  commonly  known  as  red 
hematite,  constitutes  the  principal  ore  mined  in  the  Marquette 
district  of  Michigan,  which  supplies  fully  two-lifths  of  the  entire 
product  of  the  country.  Next  to  Michigan  in  the  production  of 
iron  is  Alabama,  which  has  but  recently  passed  Pennsylvania, 
while  both  states  together  yield  but  little  more  than  half  the 
amount  produced  by  Michigan  alone.  The  ores  of  Alabama  are 
principally  red  hematite  and  limonite.  Those  of  Pennsylvania 
are  mostly  magnetite,  a  variety  of  hematite,  and  limonite.  New 
York  holds  the  fourth  place,  with  its  large  deposits  of  magnetite; 
it  is  closely  followed  by  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  with  their 
immense  deposits  of  red  hematite,  which  have  recently  been  dis 
covered  and  opened.  These  six  states  jointly  produced  more 
than  four-fifths  of  the  entire  output. 

In  1SS9  the  production  of  iron  ore  in  the  United  States  was 
one-fourth  of  the  entire  product  of  the  globe.  It  was  exceeded 
only  by  Great  Britain,  and  in  1890  the  United  States  took  the 
lead  over  that  country,  producing  9,202,703  long  tons  of  pig- 
iron,  as  against  7,904,21-t  tons  bv  Great  Britain.  Of  the  world's 
production  of  pig  iron,  in  that  year,  26,973,113  tons,  the  output 
of  the  United  States  exceeded  one-third. 

In   1882  the   production   of    pig   iron  by    Great   Britain    was 


190 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


nearly  double  that  of  the  United  States ;  but  in  1890,  only 
eight  years  later,  the  latter  passed  the  former  in  production,  as 
above  stated.  The  following  table  shows  the  production  of  pig 
iron  in  this  country  and  Great  Britain  in  every  tenth  year  since 
1820: 

PRODUCTION  OP   PIG  IRON   IN   THE   UNITED  STATES  AND 
GREAT  BRITAIN,    BY  DECADES 


YEAR 

United  States 

Great  Britain 

1820 

Tons 

22  400 

Tons 
400  000 

1830                       .  .     . 

184,800 

677,417 

1840            

321,331 

1,396  400 

1850  

632,526 

2,500  000 

1860 

919  770 

3  826  752 

1870 

1,865  000 

5  963  515 

1880 

4,295,414 

7  749  233 

1890                           

9,202,703 

7,904  214 

Steel. — The  production  of  steel  of  all  kinds  in  the  year  1890 
was  4,790,319  short  tons,  nearly  all  of  it  being  Bessemer  steel. 
In  the  manufacture  of  steel  Pennsylvania  stands  far  in  advance 
among  the  states. 

In  the  world's  production  of  steel  the  United  States  leads  all 
other  countries ;  its  product  is  much  greater  than  that  of  its 
greatest  competitor,  Great  Britain,  and  nearly  double  that  of 
Germany.  Of  the  entire  production  of  the  world  in  1890,  that 
of  this  country  constituted  34.9  per  cent.,  or  more  than  one-third. 

For  generations  Great  Britain  had  produced  this,  the  metal  of 
metals,  for  the  entire  world.  No  greater  or  more  significant 
industrial  victory  has  been  achieved  by  our  country,  than  that 
of  wresting  from  her  brow  the  iron  crown. 

Gold. — Since  the  days  of  '49,  when  gold  was  discovered  in 
the  placers  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  United  States  has  been 
the  principal  source  of  its  supply  to  the  world.  As  the  early 
placers  were  exhausted,  others  were  discovered.  When  the 
supply  from  this  form  of  deposits  diminished,  new  forms  of  de 
posit  were  discovered  in  other  places,  and  thus  the  supply  has 
been  maintained. 


MINERAL   RESOURCES  191 

Starting  with  a  yield  of  $40,000.000  in  1849,  the  yearly  prod- 
act  has  risen  and  fallen,  the  maximum  being  $65,000,000  in  1853, 
and  the  minimum  $30,000,000  in  1883.  The  production  in  1890 
was  $32,845,000.  Of  this  amount  two-fifths  was  from  California, 
which  still  maintains  its  position  as  the  Golden  State;  over 
$4,000,000  came  from  Colorado,  where  gold  is  mined  in  connec 
tion  with  silver;  more  than  $3,000,000  from  Montana,  and  an 
almost  equal  amount  from  the  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota. 

To  the  world's  production  of  gold  in  1890,  the  United  States 
contributed  28  per  cent.,  and  leading  competitors  in  the  produc 
tion  of  this  precious  metal,  are  Australia,  which  in  1890  produced 
830,000,000,  and  liussia,  which  produced  $21,000,000. 

Silver. — Prior  to  I860  the  production  of  silver  in  the  United 
States  was  trilling.  The  discovery  in  1861  of  the  Comstock  lode 
in  Nevada,  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  discoveries  that  have  placed 
our  country  far  at  the  front,  as  the  lead  ing  producer  of  this  metal. 
As  in  the  case  of  gold,  silver  is  now  mined  in  every  state  and 
territory  of  the  Cordilleran  region.  The  product  has  increased 
steadily  from  the  time  of  the  first  discoveries,  reaching  in  1890  a 
total  value  of  $70,485,714. 

For  a  long  time  Nevada  was  the  leading  state  in  the  production 
of  silver;  but  the  decline  of  the  Comstock  and  Eureka  mines, 
together  with  the  discoveries  at  Lead vi lie,  Colorado,  and  Butte, 
Montana,  have  placed  the  latter  states  far  ahead  of  her  in  this 
regard.  Colorado  led  in  silver  production  in  1890,  her  output  for 
that  vear  being  valued  at  over  $24,000,000  ;  Montana  followed 
with  a  production  of  more  than  $20,000,000;  while  Nevada 
had  dropped  to  $5,750,000,  being  exceeded  by  Utah  with  over 
$10,000,000.  From  the  states  of  Colorado  and  Montana,  and 
Utah  Territory,  is  derived  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  entire  silver 
product  of  the  nation. 

To  the  world's  production  of  silver  in  1890,  the  United  States 
contributed  more  than  two-fifths.  Our  leading  competitor  is 
Mexico,  whose  product  in  that  year  was  $50,000,000. 

Copper. — The  United  States  commenced  to  produce  copper 
about  the  year  1845.  the  first  source  of  supply  being  the  native 
copper  deposits  at  Keweenaw  Point  in  northern  Michigan.  The 
production  from  these  deposits  increased  gradually,  and  for  a 


192  THE  BUILDING   OF  A    NATION 

long  time  they  were  practically  the  only  source  of  native  supply. 
Within  a  few  years  deposits  of  great  commercial  importance 
have  been  discovered  in  Montana  and  Arizona,  and  those  in 
Montana  have  been  developed  to  such  an  extent  that  in  1890 
their  yield  was  in  excess  of  that  in  northern  Michigan.  The 
total  production  of  the  country  in  1890  was  115,669  long  tons — 
twice  that  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  more  than  four  times  that  of 
Chile,  and  more  than  two-fifths  of  the  production  of  the  whole 
world. 

To  illustrate  the  enormous  wealth  of  the  Lake  Superior  de 
posits,  it  may  be  said  that  in  1876  nine-tenths  of  all  the  copper 
in  the  United  States  was  produced  in  this  district,  and  that  in 
1890  the  yield  of  this  district  was  greater  than  that  of  the  whole 
country  eight  years  earlier.  For  a  long  time  one  mine  in  this 
district,  the  Calumet  and  Hecla,  produced  more  than  all  the  rest 
of  the  district;  and,  indeed,  until  very  recently  it  has  controlled 
the  copper  market  of  the  world.  In  1876  the  Calumet  and  Hecla 
mine  contributed  one-half  of  all  the  copper  output  of  the  coun 
try.  Again,  in  1890  the  product  of  this  mine  was  one-fourth 
that  of  the  entire  country,  and  one-tenth  of  the  product  of  the 
world.  It  has  proved  a  veritable  bonanza  to  its  owners. 

Lead. — This  country  began  to  produce  lead  about  1825,  and 
the  production  has  increased  up  to  the  present  time.  In  1890 
it  was  161,754  short  tons.  Lead  was  first  mined  in  the  district 
comprising  parts  of  southwestern  Wisconsin,  northwestern 
Illinois,  and  northeastern  Iowa,  a  district  which  is  still  produc 
ing,  although  on  a  very  limited  scale.  Later,  deposits  were  dis 
covered  in  southwestern  Missouri  and  southeastern  Kansas, 
where  they  are  associated  with  zinc.  These  mines,  especially 
those  in  Missouri,  are  still  yielding  lead  in  large  quantities. 

More  recently  lead  has  been  mined  in  the  western  states  and 
territories  in  connection  with  silver;  their  product  has  increased 
greatly,  and  now  far  exceeds  that  from  the  more  eastern  states. 
Thus,  of  the  total  product  of  lead  in  1890,  that  from  Colorado, 
mainly  from  the  Leadville  district,  reached  70,888  tons,  or 
nearly  one-half  the  product  of  the  country ;  Idaho  produced 
23,172  tons;  Utah,  16,675  tons;  and  Montana,  10,183  tons. 
These  four  states  and  territories  collectively  contribute  more 


MINERAL  RESOURCES  193 

than  three-fourths  of  the  lead  product  of  the  entire  country. 
Nearly  all  of  that  from  the  more  eastern  states  was  produced  in 
Missouri,  whose  yield  was  29,258  tons. 

Zinc. — The  early  production  of  zinc  in  this  country  was 
from  deposits  in  northern  New  Jersey ;  at  onetime  they  yield 
ed  largely,  but  the  production  has  fallen  off  greatly  in  recent 
years.  The  supply  now  comes  mainly  from  northwestern 
Illinois,  southeastern  Kansas,  and  southwestern  Missouri,  where 
it  is  mined  in  connection  with  lead.  The  total  product  in  1890 
was  63,683  short  tons,  distributed  as  follows: 

SOURCES    OF    THE    PRODUCTION    OF    ZINC    IN  1890 

Illinois 2<>, 243 

Kansas 15,199 

Missouri 13,127 

All  other  sources 9,114 


63,683 

Quicksilver.  —  California  is  practically  the  only  source  of 
quicksilver  in  the  United  States.  Several  mines,  mainly  in  the 
Coast  ranges,  have  contributed  to  the  snpph7.  In  recent  years 
the  production  has  been  carefully  adjusted  to  the  demand,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  mines  now  are  beginning  to  show  signs  of 
exhaustion.  Of  these  deposits,  the  one  known  as  New  Alrnaden 
is  bv  far  the  largest,  and  has  a  controlling  influence  upon  pro 
duction. 

Petroleum. — Nearly  all  the  petroleum  of  the  world  is  pro 
duced  in  this  country.  The  only  other  source  of  supply  of  any 
importance  is  southern  Russia,  and  its  competition  is  scarcely 
felt  in  the  world's  market.  Within  the  United  States  petroleum 
is  widely  distributed,  but  the  supply  comes  almost  entirely  from 
a  comparatively  limited  area  in  western  Pennsylvania,  south 
western  New  York,  and  Ohio.  Indeed,  of  the  total  production 
in  1890,  45.822,672  barrels,  not  less  than  44,582,864  barrels 
were  produced  in  these  three  states. 

The  production  and  distribution  of  petroleum  are  controlled 

bv  the  Standard  Oil  Company.     It  is  transported  from  the  wells 

to  the  markets  in  our  large  cities  by  means  of  pipe  lines.     The 

economies  in  its  production  and  transportation  have  been  carried 

13 


194  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

to  such  an  extent  that  the  price,  which  in  1865  was  $6.59  per 
barrel,  has  been  reduced,  until  in  1886  the  average  price  was 
but  eighty-six  cents  per  barrel. 

Natural  Gas. — Within  the  past  few  years  a  new  source  of 
light  and  heat  has  been  discovered  in  the  form  of  natural  gas, 
which  has  rapidly  come  into  extensive  use,  not  only  for  domestic 
but  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Its  occurrence  coincides  quite 
closely  with  that  of  petroleum,  and  within  its  range  of  occur 
rence  it  has  displaced  coal  to  a  great  extent.  In  1890  the  con 
sumption  of  natural  gas  is  estimated  to  have  been  552,150,000,000 
cubic  feet,  displacing  9,774,417  tons  of  coal. 

Salt. — Salt  is  produced  by  evaporating  the  waters  of  salt 
springs.  The  supply  comes  almost  entirely  from  the  lower 
peninsula  of  Michigan  and  from  western  New  York.  The  pro 
duction  from  all  sources,  in  1890,  was  8,776,991  barrels. 


TRANSPORTATION 


WITH  its  great  extent  and  variety  of  climate  the  United 
States  possesses  capabilities  for  producing  almost  every  tiling 
required  for  the  sustenance  and  comfort  of  man,  and  these  capa 
bilities  are  being  rapidly  improved.  The  distribution  through 
out  the  country  of  its  varied  products  has  developed  a  domestic 
commerce  that  is  almost  fabulous  in  amount,  and  the  means  of 
transportation  are  upon  a  corresponding  scale. 

Wagon  Koacls. — First  in  order  of  mention  are  the  wagon 
roads.  Of  their  extent  only  on  approximate  estimate  can-  be 
made.  Throughout  the  densely  settled  parts  of  the  northeastern 
states  they  average  in  length  two  and  one-half  miles  to  each 
square  mile,  while  upon  the  great  western  plateau,  as  a  rule,  the 
roads  are  few  and  far  between.  It  is  probable  that,  taking  the 
country  over,  there  is  nearly  a  mile  of  road  to  each  square  mile 
of  area  ;  this  would  make  a  total  of  three  million  miles  of  wagon 
roads,  including  all  that  through  courtesy  can  be  so  designated. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  wagon  roads  of  the  United  States  are 
poorly  built;  to  speak  more  correctly,  the3T  are  not  built  at  all. 
Little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  selection  of  easy  grades  or 
direct  routes,  but  they  have  generally  been  laid  out  to  suit  the 
convenience  of  the  farms  through  which  they  run.  The  con 
struction  of  roads,  as  a  rule,  is  limited  to  grading  and  leveling, 
and  practically  none  of  them  have  been  paved  in  any  way,  at 
least  beyond  the  outskirts  of  the  cities.  In  the  northern  states 
the  roads  are  commonlv  kept  in  good  repair,  as  regards  grading 
and  leveling,  and  in  dry  weather,  as  a  rule,  they  are  tolerably 
good  for  travel. 

In  the  southern  states,  on  the  other  hand,  the  roads  as  a 
class  are  very  bad.  The  aim  appears  to  be  to  work  them  as 
little  as  possible,  consistent  with  mere  passabilitv  A  large 


196  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

proportion,  indeed  one  might  almost  saj  a  majority,  are  almost 
impassable  for  wheeled  vehicles.  In  very  recent  years  a  strong 
movement  has  arisen  in  behalf  of  better  roads,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  movement  will  result  in  a  general  and  marked 
improvement  of  their  quality. 


RAILWAYS 

The  railway  system  of  the  United  States,  considering  the 
stage  of  settlement,  is  the  most  complete  of  all  the  countries 
of  the  earth.  It  supplements  to  a  great  extent  the  system  of 
wagon  roads,  and  not  only  excuses  but  explains  their  poor 
average  quality.  In  few  parts  of  the  country  are  extended 
highways  required.  Transportation  by  wagon  road  is  every 
where  toward  the  railway,  and,  therefore,  highways  between 
points  at  a  distance  from  one  another  are  but  little  needed.  In 
no  respect,  perhaps,  have  the  Americans  shown  their  good  sense 
and  foresight  more  forcibly  than  in  the  rapid  extension  of  rail 
way  transportation. 

Extent. — At  the  end  of  the  calendar  year  1891  there  were 
in  the  United  States  not  less  than  171,048  miles  of  railway,  an 
average  of  one  linear  mile  to  17.5  square  miles  of  area,  exclud 
ing  Alaska.  This  proportion  of  linear  miles  to  area  differs 
widely  in  different  states;  it  is  greatest  in  Massachusetts,  where 
there  is  a  mile  of  railway  to  each  3.73  square  miles;  and  least 
in  Nevada,  where  there  is  but  one  mile  of  railway  to  121  square 
miles  of  area.  This  enormous  railway  system,  which  has  cost 
nearly  ten  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  and  which  transports  each 
year  many  billions  of  passengers  and  many  billion  tons  of  freight, 
has  grown  up  entirely  within  a  little  over  sixty  years.  The  dia 
gram  on  page  197  shows  its  trifling  beginnings,  and  its  rate  of 
growth  each  year,  from  1830  to  the  present  time. 

The  railway  system  of  the  United  States  is  perhaps  one 
of  the  finest  examples  to  be  found  of  the  nice  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends,  so  characteristic  of  Americans.  In  the  densely 
settled  parts  of  the  country,  where  railway  traffic  is  heavy,  the 
construction  and  equipment  are  of  the  best  in  all  respects.  The 


TRANS  POR  TA  TION 


197 


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1889.      ._ 

1890 

RAILWAY   MILEAGE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  183O  TO  1890 


198 


TEE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


Pennsylvania,  the  New  York  Central,  and  other  roads  of  the 
northeastern  states,  are,  in  everything  that  contributes  to  the 
safety  and  comfort  of  travel,  and  in  the  capacity  and  facilities 
for  transporting  freight,  unequaled  upon  the  globe. 

Bat  upon  the  frontier,  where  the  present  demands  of  traffic 


MILES 


UNITED  STATES... 

EUROPE 

GERMANY 

FRANCE 

GREAT  BRITAIN  &  IRELAND 

RUSSIA 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

BRITISH  INDIA 

CANADA 

ITALY 

SPAIN 

BRAZIL 

MEXICO 

ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

SWEDEN 

BELGIUM .  . 

VICTORIA 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES 

ALGIERS  &  TUNIS 

QUEENSLAND 

NEW  ZEALAND 

SOUTH  AUSTRALIA 

CAPE  COLONY 

CHILE 

SWITZERLAND 

NETHERLANDS 

ROUMANIA 

PORTUGAL 

DENMARK 

NORWAY 

TURKEY  IN  EUROPE  ..  / 
BULGARIA  &  ROUMELIA  j  " 

CUBA 

PERU 

JAPAN 

EGYPT 

DUTCH  POSSESSIONS 

ASIATIC  RUSSIA 

CENTRAL  AMERICA 


RAILWAY  MILEAGE  OF  THE  WORLD  FOR  1890,  BY  COUNTRIES 


are  slight,  railways  are  built  and  equipped  in  the  cheapest  man 
ner  possible.  A  poor  railroad  is,  however,  vastly  better  than 
none,  and  under  such  traffic  conditions  it  would  be  folly  to  build 
an  expensive  one.  Thus  the  traveler  finds  the  quality  of  the 
roadbed,  equipment,  and  train  service,  closely  associated  with  the 
density  of  population. 

The  above  diagram  shows  the  railway  mileage  of  the  principal 


TRANSPOR  TA  TION 


199 


c 

WEST  AUSTRALIA     

7. 

50   15. 

00    22 

50  30. 

00   37 

50  45. 

00   52. 

50  60. 

00   67. 

50  75. 

SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  

82.50 

QUEENSLAND 

CANADA  

90.00 

NEW  ZEALAND 

97.50 
105.00 
J|2.50 

UNITED  STATES 

TASMANIA 

ASIATIC  RUSSIA 

~ 
— 

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MHMI 

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MMMM 

mmmm 

HBM 

: 

1 

am 

VICTORIA     . 

NEW  SOUTH  WALES 

ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

CAPE  COLONY  

SWEDEN  

CHILE 

CUBA 

URUGUAY  

SWITZERLAND  

FRANCE 

NEWFOUNDLAND 

DENMARK  . 

BELGIUM  

GERMANY 

GREAT  BRITAIN  &  IRELAND.. 
NORWAY  

NATAL 

MEXICO                       

PARAGUAY 

NETHERLANDS 

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  

BRAZIL 

PERU 

ALGIERS  &  TUNIS  

SPAIN 

PORTUGAL                     

ROUMANIA 

ITALY 

MALTA,  JERSEY  &c  MAN  

CENTRAL  AMERICA 

VENEZUELA                          

RUSSIA                                     

GREECE                      

ECUADOR.   . 

MILES  OF  RAILWAY  PER  10,000   INHABITANTS, 
BY  COUNTRIES,   IN  1890 


200  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

countries  of  the  globe,  and  that  on   page  199   the  mileage  of 
each  country  in  proportion  to  population. 

The  railway  mileage  of  the  United  States  is  to-day  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  is  rapidly  gaining 
on  that  of  the  rest  of  the  globe.  Instead  of  showing  any  signs 
of  being  completed,  it  is  extending  more  rapidly  than  ever. 
Almost  as  many  miles  have  been  built  in  the  past  ten  years,  as 
were  in  operation  at  the  beginning  of  that  decade.  In  a  single 
year,  1887,  nearly  as  many  miles  were  built  as  the  entire  number 
of  miles  in  operation  throughout  England  and  Wales. 


GENERAL    STATISTICS 

The  following  statistics,  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Inter 
state  Commerce  Commission,  show  the  volume  of  business  and 
other  interesting  facts  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1890 : 

RAILWAY   CAPITAL,  OPERATING  EXPENSES,    EARNINGS,   ETC. 

Miles  of  railway 163,597 

Capital  and  funded  debt,  assumed  to  be  the  cost 

of  construction $9,871,378,389 

Cost  of  construction  per  mile 60,340 

Gross  earnings 1,051,877,632 

Operating  expenses 692,093,971 

Income  from  operations 359,783,661 

Other  income 126,767,064 

Total  income 468,550,725 

All  deductions  from  income 384,792,138 

Net  income 101,758,587 

Dividends  declared 89,688,204 

Surplus 12,070,383 

The  cost  of  construction  as  here  given  is  almost  equally 
divided  between  capital  stock  and  funded  debt.  Dividends,  as 
will  be  noted,  amount  to  only  about  two  per  cent,  on  the  capital 
stock,  showing  that  railways  per  se  are  not,  as  a  whole,  profit 
able  property.  But,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter,  they  are  fre 
quently  built  as  means  to  ends  rather  than  for  direct  profit. 

Traffic    Statistics. — To    what   extent   does    the   railway 


TRANSPOR  TA  TION  20 1 

system   serve  the   public?     What  is  the  volume  of  its  traffic? 
These  queries  are  answered  by  the  following  figures  : 

RAILWAY   TRAFFIC  FOR    THE   YEAR    EXDIXG   JUXE   30,  1890 

Number  of  passengers  curried 492,430,865 

Xumber  of  passengers  carried  one  mile 11,847,785,617 

Average  journey  per  passenger  (miles) 24.06 

Xumber  of  tons  of  freight  carried 686,541,617 

Xumber  of  tons  of  freight  carried  one  mile 76,207,047,298 

Average  carry  of  each  ton  of  freight  (miles) 119.72 

From  the  above  figures  concerning  the  passenger  movement 
on  railways,  an  idea  may  be  obtained  of  the  extreme  mobility 
of  the  population.  It  appears,  supposing  each  person  in  the 
United  States  to  have  traveled  an  equal  amount  during  the  year, 
that  the  distance  traveled  by  each  was  one  hundred  and  ninety 
miles.  The  extent  of  the  freight  movement,  the  internal  com 
merce  by  rail,  may  be  summarized  by  the  statement  that  for 
each  inhabitant  over  ten  tons  of  freight  are  moved  annually  to 
a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles. 

Of  the  total  earnings  of  all  the  railways,  29.41  per  cent,  are 
derived  from  passenger  travel  and  68.23  per  cent,  from  freight 
traffic. 

Organization.— This  great  system  is  held  under  1,797 
different  corporate  bodies,  but  it  is  operated  almost  entirely  by 
but  747  of  them,  the  property  of  the  remainder  being  either 
leased  or  operated  under  other  forms  of  contract. 

Consolidation. — The  tendency  of  railway  property  is 
toward  consolidation.  Although  built  originally  as  short  lines 
with,  numerous  owners,  connecting  lines  have  been  merged, 
until  now  the  greater  part  of  this  enormous  system  is  in  few 
hands.  Indeed,  consolidation  has  gone  so  far  that  forty  com 
panies  are  to-day  operating  no  less  than  77,872  miles  of  railway, 
or  47.51  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  Again,  seventy-five  companies 
operate  102,305  miles,  or  65.41  per  cent,  of  the  entire  mileage  of 
the  country;  that  is,  one-tenth  of  the  operating  companies  of 
the  United  States  control  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  entire  system. 
If  we  consider  the  extent  of  traffic,  the  proportion  is  still 


202  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

greater,  for  the  gross  revenue  of  these  seventy -five  companies 
is  no  less  than  80.51  per  cent,  of  the  entire  gross  revenue  of  the 
system.  These  roads  do  83.56  of  all  the  railway  passenger  traffic, 
and  carry  85.38  per  cent,  of  all  the  freight. 

The  process  of  consolidation  is  going  on  as  rapidly  as  ever, 
and  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  it  will  stop  short  of  the  formation 
of  one  vast  system  for  the  United  States.  It  is  easy  to  decry 
the  tendency  and  to  describe  the  dangers  attendant  upon  the 
formation  of  such  enormous  corporations.  To  the  traveling 
public,  however,  and  the  traveling  public  constitute  the  people, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  point  out  the  great  advantages  incident  to 
consolidation — the  increased  rapidity,  safety,  and  comfort  of 
traveling,  and  the  reduction  in  rates. 

It  is  said  that  consolidation  between  railways  serves  to  elimi 
nate  competition.  This  may  be  true  as  regards  the  competition 
of  other  railways,  but  the  people  supply  an  element  of  com 
petition  which  is  not  generally  considered.  Railway  travel  is 
measurably  a  luxury,  and  with  high  rates  people  refrain  from  in 
dulging  in  it  unnecessarily,  and  traffic  is  thereby  reduced.  The 
prices  of  many  commodities  cannot  bear  high  freight  rates,  and 
when  they  exceed  a  certain  amount,  a  reduction  in  freight 
traffic  is  seriously  felt.  In  these  ways  the  public  acts  as  a  com 
petitor  of  the  railroads,  to  a  large  extent  unconsciously  as  far  as 
the  public  is  concerned,  but  the  railway  manager  feels  it  to  the 
utmost  and  bows  before  it. 

Cost  of  Transportation. — By  means  of  this  consolidation 
which  we  are  so  fond  of  decrying,  the  cost  of  transporting 
freight  and  passengers  by  rail  has  been  reduced  to  an  amount 
that  seems  almost  trifling.  During  the  year  under  considera 
tion,  that  ending  June  30,  1890,  the  average  cost  to  the  railway 
of  transporting  a  passenger  one  mile  was  but  1.917  cents,  while 
the  revenue  to  the  road  of  such  transportation  was  2.167  cents. 
As  to  freight,  the  average  expense  to  the  railway  attendant  upon 
moving  a  ton  of  freight  one  mile  was  .604  of  a  cent,  and  the 
receipts  of  the  road  for  such  service  were  .941  of  a  cent.  In 
other  words,  to  move  a  ton  of  freight  from.  Chicago  to  New 
York,  the  distance  being  about  a  thousand  miles,  cost  in  the 
neighborhood  of  $6  ;  to  carry  a  barrel  of  flour  the  same  distance, 


TRANSPORTATION  203 

cost  60  cents.  On  this  basis  the  entire  yearly  food  supply  for  a 
family  of  live  persons  can  be  transported  a  thousand  miles  for 
the  sum  of  §9. 

Rolling-  Stock. — For  the  same  year,  ending  June  30,  1890, 
there  were  in  service  29,928  locomotives,  25,511  passenger  cars, 
and  913,5SO  freight  cars.  These,  with  special  cars  of  various 
kinds,  made  a  total  service  of  1,164,188  cars.  These  figures 
maybe  compared  with  the  length  of  railway  lines,  as  follows: 
The  number  of  locomotives  to  each  hundred  miles  of  line  was 
19:  of  passenger  cars,  IT;  of  freight  cars,  548;  arid  of  total 
cars,  774.  As  to  the  service  afforded  by  this  equipment,  the 
number  of  passengers  carried  per  locomotive  was  58,735  ;  and 
the  passenger  mileage  carried  per  locomotive,  1,413,142.  Simi 
larly,  the  number  of  tons  of  freight  was  49,433,  and  the  freight 
mileage  per  locomotive,  4,721,627. 

The  addition  of  the  train  brake  is  probably  the  most  impor 
tant  among  the  modern  improvements  in  connection  with  rail 
way  travel.  Practically  all  passenger  trains  are  now  equipped 
with  it,  mainly  with  the  Westinghouse  air  brake,  and  more 
than  one-half  of  the  freight  engines  are  thus  equipped.  Auto 
matic  couplers  have  been  adopted  almost  universallv  upon  pas 
senger  cars  ;  but  as  yet  very  few  freight  cars  are  equipped  with 
them,  and  to  this  more  than  any  other  cause  is  to  be  attributed 
the  large  number  of  accidents  among  train  employes. 

Accidents. — Statistics  for  1890  show  that  of  a  total  of 
749,800  employes  of  our  railway  system,  2,451  were  killed  and 
22,896  injured  during  that  year.  It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that 
these  accidents  occurred  largely  in  the  coupling  and  uncoupling 
of  cars  and  in  braking  freight  trains.  The  number  of  passen 
gers  killed  during  the  same  year  was  but  286,  and  but  2,425 
were  injured,  a  rate  of  mortality  so  trifling  that  one  is  tempted 
to  join  with  Mark  Twain  in  advocating  railway  travel  as  con 
ducive  to  long  life. 

Objects  of  Construction. — There  is  one  very  suggestive 
item  in  the  foregoing  statistics  ;  namely,  the  proportion  that  the 
dividends  bear  to  the  stock.  This,  as  already  stated,  is  about 
two  per  cent,  showing  that  railway  property  on  the  whole,  and 
in  itself,  is  by  no  means  profitable. 


204  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

While  many,  perhaps  most,  railways  have  been  built  for  the 
profits  to  be  derived  from  their  operation,  a  large  proportion 
were  constructed  mainly  as  a  means  to  an  end,  that  end  being 
the  creation  of  an  increase  in  values  along  the  line  of  the  road. 
It  is  partly  with  this  object  in  view  that  railways  have  been 
extended  so  rapidly  into  unsettled  regions,  especially  at  the  far 
west,  and  have  thus  paved  the  way  to  settlement.  It  goes  with 
out  saying  that  most  of  these  enterprises  have  not  only  lined 
the  pockets  of  their  projectors,  but  have  increased  the  general 
wealth  and  well-being  in  thus  developing  the  sections  through 
which  they  run. 

Many  railways,  however,  are  built  for  other  purposes.  Every 
system  has  its  "  territory,"  in  which  it  seeks  to  maintain  a  sort 
of  sovereignty.  In  self-defense  against  the  encroachments  of  a 
rival,  it  is  often  forced  to  build  and  operate  branches  which 
it  knows  will  not  pay  of  themselves,  at  least  for  many 
years. 

Again,  many  railways  are  built  far  into  unsettled  regions 
for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  traffic  which  it  is  foreseen  will 
be  supplied  when,  through  their  agency,  the  country  shall  have 
become  settled. 


ENGINEERING    WORK 

Not  only  our  railways,  but  the  bridges,  canals,  dams,  and  all 
other  like  constructions,  are  characterized  by  a  close  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends,  of  construction  to  special  requirements  and 
conditions. 

Yet  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  hear  our  engineering 
work  decried  by  Europeans  and  by  Europeanized  Americans,  on 
the  score  of  lack  of  thoroughness  in  construction.  Such  criti- 
cisms  do  not  take  into  account  the  peculiar  conditions  of  our 
environment.  They  are  rather  the  outgrowth  of  ignorance  than 
of  superior  knowledge.  Of  all  the  peoples  under  the  sun,  the 
Americans  have  the  keenest  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
adapting  their  structures  to  the  necessities  of  the  situation. 
Thus  they  build  a  Brooklyn  and  a  St.  Louis  bridge  to  last  for 


TRANS  FOR  TA  TION  2  05 

all  time;  and  in  the  same  breath,  as  it  were,  they  build  a  wooden 
trestle  over  the  PJatte,  in  Wyoming,  to  last  only  until  the  traffic 
will  warrant  a  more  durable  structure. 

An  American  engineer  knows  what  he  is  about  when  he 
builds  the  cheapest  possible  railway  across  the  sparsely  settled 
plains.  The  same  engineer  would  build  an  entirely  different 
sort  of  road  in  New  York,  and  in  building  it  would  be  guided 
by  the  same  principles  which  obtained  in  the  Dakotas;  that  is, 
of  fitting  means  to  ends. 

As  in  railway  and  bridge  construction,  so  it  is  in  mining  and 
irrigation  works.  No  greater  injury  has  been  done  to  our  min-^ 
ing  interests  than  by  the  introduction  of  German  engineers,  with 
their  peculiar  ideas  of  thoroughly  exploiting  mines  and  erecting 
expensive  reduction  works,  before  taking  out  ore.  Hundreds  of 
valuable  properties  have  been  wrecked  by  such  mismanagement, 
wrongly  characterized  as  conservatism. 

The  same  is  true  as  to  irrigation.  Many  an  enterprise  has 
been  ruined  bv  an  engineering  plan  too  elaborate  and  thorough 
for  the  prevailing  financial  conditions.  The  American  engineer 
commonly  understands  and  considers  them,  while  the  English  or 
German  engineer  is  too  apt  to  look  only  at  the  engineering 
aspects  of  the  case,  and  to  shut  his  eyes  to  its  iinancial 
side. 

A  generation  ago  the  foreign-bred  engineer  was  highly  re 
garded,  and  much  dependence  was  placed  on  him.  To-day  .the 
American-bred  engineers,  the  graduates  of  Boston,  Yale,  Colum 
bia,  Troy,  Lehigh,  and  a  score  of  other  schools,  have  come  to 
the  front,  and  Americans  realize  that  only  through  American 
training  can  be  obtained  a  just  appreciation  of  American  needs 
in  engineering  matters. 

We  have  built  cheap  railways  on  the  frontier  because  we  need 
railways  there,  and  because  thoroughly  built  ones  would  not  pay 
interest  on  the  investment.  We  have  built  cheap  bridges  for 
the  same  reason,  and  so  on.  This  has  not  resulted  from  .any 
inherent  disposition  to  do  cheap  work,  but  because  of  our  delib 
erate,  thoughtful  conclusion  that  it  was  the  best  thing  to  do 
under  the  prevailing  conditions.  That  we  can  do  the  other 
thing  is  shown  by  numberless  examples  which  throw  in  the 


206  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

shade  any  engineering  works  of  foreign  countries,  not  only 
for  boldness  of  conception,  but  also  for  thoroughness  of  con 
struction. 

Among  these  are  the  great  suspension  bridges  over  the  East 
River  at  New  York,  and  over  the  Niagara  at  the  Falls ;  the  great 
steel  arches  which  span  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Louis,  the  score 
or  more  of  steel  and  iron  trusses  which  bridge  the  Father  of 
Waters,  and  the  jetties  which  have  made  a  seaport  of  New 
Orleans.  These  illustrate  one  class  of  our  engineering  triumphs, 
and  our  railway  system  illustrates  another. 

We  have  built  railways  everywhere.  A  generation  ago, 
when  wishing  to  pay  a  tribute  of  praise  to  our  railway 
engineers,  we  were  accustomed  to  say  that  they  could  build 
a  railway  wherever  a  wagon-road  could  go.  But  the  railway 
soon  outgrew  that  saying.  It  outgrew  the  possibilities  of  a 
pack-road,  and  now  there  are  few  paths  accessible  to  a  moun 
tain  sheep  which  cannot  be  followed  by  a  locomotive.  If  a 
mountain  side,  it  scales  it  by  loops,  by  switch-backs,  or  by  a 
cog-rail;  if  it  be  a  close  canon,  the  road  is  hung  from  the 
canon  walls;  if  every  other  device  fails,  with  true  American 
directness  the  engineer  drives  a  tunnel  through  the  obstacle 
and  finds  a  route  on  the  other  side. 


WATER    TRANSPORTATION 

The  merchant  fleet  of  the  United  States  is  of  enormous  dimen 
sions,  far  beyond  popular  belief.  Much  has  been  written  about 
the  decadence  of  American  shipping,  and,  so  far  as  foreign  trade 
is  concerned,  the  amount  has,  indeed,  diminished  greatly.  But 
this  diminution  in  shipping  engaged  in  foreign  trade,  has  been 
far  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  increase  of  that  engaged 
in  domestic  traffic.  The  number  of  vessels  engaged  in  both  for 
eign  and  domestic  trade,  in  the  year  1890,  was  25,540,  and  their 
tonnage  was  7,633,676.  Compare  this  with  the  merchant  fleet 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  the  queen  of  the  seas.  She  had  in  the 
same  year  a  tonnage  of  7,915,336,  which  is  only  a  trifle  larger 
than  that  of  our  own  fleet. 


TRANSPORTATION  207 

The  shipping  of  the  United  States  may  be  classified  as  fol 
lows  : 

CLASSIFICATION   OF   THE   AMERICAN   FLEET 

CLASSES  TONS 

Engaged  in  foreign  trade 928,062 

Const-wise  trade 2,385,879 

Lake  trade 926,355 

River  traffic 3,393,380 


These  vessels  mav  be  classified  again  as  follows : 

CLASSES  TONS 

Steam  vessels 1,820.386 

Sailing  vessels 1,795,443 

Unrigged  vessels 4,017,847 

The  fleet  has  a  total  value  exceeding  $215,000,000,  and  em 
ploys  106,436  men. 

Vessels  Engaged  in  Foreign  Trade. — The  tonnage  of 
vessels  engaged  in  foreign  trade  increased  quite  steadily  up  to  the 
beginning  of  the  late  civil  war.  when  it  reached  a  total,  in  1861, 
of  2,496,894  tons.  The  risks  attendant  upon  this  class  of  prop 
erty  during  the  war  produced  a  rapid  diminution,  which  has 
continued  with  scarcely  a  break  until  the  present  time.  In  1890 
the  tonnage  was  almost  precisely  the  same  as  in  1846.  fifteen 
years  before  the  beginning  of  the  war. 

But  this  is  not  the  whole  story.  In  1820  the  United  States 
surpassed  all  other  countries  in  foreign  trade.  Its  ships  were 
more  frequently  seen  in  foreign  ports  than  those  of  any  other 
nation.  At  that  time  commenced  the  decadence  of  its  merchant 
marine  relatively  to  that  of  other  countries,  and  the  civil  war 
was  but  an  episode  that,  hastened  the  change.  To  understand 
the  cause  of  this  decadence  it  is  necessarv  to  go  behind  the  facts 
as  they  appear  on  the  surface.  The  real  cause  was  not  the  civil 
war,  although  that  doubtless  aided  it  to  some  extent.  Neither 
was  it  the  tariff  nor  the  onerous  navigation  laws,  although  they 
have  had  their  influence  in  hastening  what  was  inevitable  under 
the  prevailing  conditions.  Nor  was  it  due  to  a  change  from  sails 


208  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

to  steam  as  a  motive  power,  for  the  Americans  are  as  competent 
to  build  steamers,  and  iron  steamers  at  that,  as  are  the  people  of 
any  other  nation. 

The  fact  is  simply  that  American  capital  finds  better  invest 
ments  at  home  in  the  development  of  home  industries,  than  in 
competing  with  the  older  countries  upon  the  sea.  The  situation 
may  be  summed  up  as  follows :  So  long  as  capital  can  earn  ten 
per  cent,  upon  the  land,  it  is  folly  to  expect  it  to  invest  in  ships 
which  can  earn  but  five  per  cent.  The  question  may  be  asked 
why  it  was  that  up  to  1820  there  was  a  rapid  development  of 
the  maritime  interests  of  the  nation.  To  this  comes  the  ready 
answer  that,  up  to  that  time,  the  nation  had  been  extremely  slow 
in  developing  its  internal  resources.  We  had  not  realized  in 
any  degree  the  capabilities  of  the  domain  to  which  we  had  fallen 
heir. 

In  1890  the  total  tonnage  of  vessels  cleared  from  American 
for  foreign  ports,  was  18,148,862.  Of  this  but  4,066,757  tons 
were  American  ;  the  remainder,  14,082,105.  being  represented  by 
vessels  sailing  under  foreign  flags.  Of  the  latter,  vessels  repre 
senting  5,687,053  tons  sailed  under  the  flag  of  the  United  King 
dom. 

Coast  and  Internal  Traffic. — The  tonnage  engaged  in 
coast-wise  traffic  has  increased  steadily  since  our  earliest  history. 
That  upon  the  Great  Lakes,  commencing  at  a  comparatively 
recent  date,  has  increased  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and  amounts 
to  very  nearly  as  much  as  the  entire  foreign  traffic  of  the 
country. 

The  river  traffic,  which  has  always  heretofore  been  underesti 
mated,  is  of  enormous  dimensions,  the  tonnage  engaged  in  such 
traffic  being  greater  than  that  upon  the  Atlantic,  Gulf,  and 
Pacific  coasts.  It  is  of  a  peculiar  character  ;  the  freight  is  car 
ried  mainly  in  barges  towed  by  steamers,  the  outfit  resembling 
in  its  essential  features  a  freight  train  drawn  by  a  locomotive. 
These  barges  are  of  considerable  capacity,  and  average  nearly 
five  hundred  tons  each. 

The  amount  of  freight  moved  bv  water  in  1890,  exclusive  of 
that  moved  on  canals,  was  172,110,423  tons,  classified  as  fol 
lows  : 


TRANSPOR  TA  TION  209 


FREIGHT  MOVED  BY   WATER  IN   1890 

Atlantic  coast 77,597,626  tons. 

Gulf  of  Mexico 2,864,956    " 

Pacific  coast 8,818,363    " 

Great  Lakes 53,424,432    " 

Rivers 29,405,046    " 


Total , 172,110,423    " 

This  total  is  not  great  as  compared  with  the  railway  traffic  of 
the  country,  by  which  6o6,541,617  tons  were  carried  in  the  same 
year,  the  average  distance  carried  by  the  two  means  of  transporta 
tion  being,  perhaps,  not  greatly  different. 


COMMERCE 

The  commerce  of  the  United  States  is  of  enormous  magni 
tude  ;  but  by  far  the  greater  part  of  it  is  internal,  consisting  in 
an  interchange  of  products  between  different  sections.  The 
country  is  broad.  It  extends  from  the  northern  temperate  zone 
nearly  to  the  tropics,  and  there  is  a  corresponding  difference  in 
its  products  ;  the  wheat,  oats,  and  ice  of  the  north  being  ex 
changed  for  the  cotton,  sugar,  and  tropic  fruits  of  the  south. 
East,  west,  north,  and  south,  the  railways,  rivers,  and  canals  are 
busied  with  the  interchange  of  commodities. 

The  extent  of  this  interchange  mav  be  understood  from  the 
statement  made  above,  that  no  fewer  than  76,207,047,298  tons  of 
merchandise  were  transported  one  mile  in  the  year  1890  by  the 
railways  alone.  The  average  journey  of  each  ton  of  freight  was 
about  120  miles,  and  the  number  of  tons  carried  that  distance 
was  636,541,617.  By  vessels  on  rivers,  and  by  coast-wise  traffic, 
172.110,423  tons  were  carried;  and  while  the  average  distance 
transported  is  not  known,  in  all  probability  it  was  not  materially 
different  from  that  of  transmission  by  rail.  Assuming  them  to 
be  equal,  it  appears  that  the  internal  commerce  of  the  United 
States  in  1890,  excepting  that  by  canal,  reached  a  total  of  over 
800,000,000  of  tons  transported  an  average  distance  of  120  miles. 
This  is  truly  a  commerce  of  colossal  proportions. 
14 


210  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

Foreign  Commerce. — How  does  this  compare  in  magni 
tude  with  our  external  commerce ;  «'.<?.,  that  with  foreign  coun 
tries?  Here  we  find  it  difficult  to  bring  things  to  common 
terms.  Our  foreign  commerce  is  given  by  the  Bureau  of  Statis 
tics  in  money  value,  not  in  terms  of  weight.  But  the  statistics 
of  entry,  and  clearance  from  American  for  foreign  ports,  show 
that  in  the  year  1892,  vessels  aggregating  about  16,000,000  tons 
entered  with  cargoes,  and  that  19,000,000  tons  cleared,  a  total  of 
about  35,000,000  tons,  which  figures  may  fairly  be  assumed  to 
represent  approximately  the  volume  of  our  foreign  trade.  It 
will  be  seen  at  once  that  our  foreign  trade  is  in  volume  but 
a  bagatelle  compared  with  the  domestic  trade,  being  in  the  pro 
portion  of  35  to  800,  or  about  1  to  24. 

The  volume  does  not,  however,  represent  the  value,  since  our 
exports  to  foreign  countries  have,  on  the  average,  a  much  higher 
value  per  ton  than  the  commodities  which  we  transport  from 
one  part  of  this  country  to  another.  These  exports  have  a  value 
of  about  one  billion  dollars  annually.  The  annual  product  from 
our  industries  foots  up  at  least  ten  billions  in  value,  and  of  this 
we  export  only  about  one-tenth. 

Therefore,  whether  we  consider  the  volume  or  the  value  of 
our  foreign  trade,  it  is  a  matter  of  secondary  importance  as  com 
pared  with  our  domestic  trade. 

This  result  may  be  attributed  to  two  causes,  but  mainly  to 
the  second  of  them  :  first,  our  high  tariff,  which,  by  raising  the 
scale  of  prices  in  this  country,  tends  to  make  it  unprofitable  to 
sell  abroad,  where  the  prices  are  lower  ;  second,  the  fact  that  with 
our  great  extent  of  country,  our  great  variety  of  products,  and 
the  large  population  to  be  supplied,  we  have  a  home  market 
sufficiently  large  and  varied  in  its  demands  and  its  supplies,  to 
render  us  almost  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  There 
are  few  commodities,  either  of  necessity  or  luxury,  which  we 
do  not  produce  within  our  borders.  A  few  products  of  the 
tropics  we  find  it  necessary  to  obtain  from  more  southern  lati 
tudes.  A  few  manufactured  articles  we  still  import  from  Eu 
rope.  The  latter  we  will  soon  supply  in  the  requisite  quantity 
and  of  the  requisite  quality.  It  will  be  of  interest  to  note  these 
articles  of  import  from  abroad,  and  to  compare  with  them  those 


TRANS  FOR  TA  TION  211 

given  in  exchange.     The  principal  imports  for  the  year  1891,  in 
the  order  of  importance,  are  as  follows  : 

VALUE   OF  PRINCIPAL   IMPORTS   IX  1891,   CLASSIFIED 

ARTICLES  VALUE 

Sugar,  molasses,  etc $108,458,621 

Coffee 96,123,777 

Iron  and  steel  manufactures 53,544,372 

Chemicals 47,317,031 

Flax,  hemp,  jute,  and  manufactures 45,310,799 

Woolen  manufactures 41,060,080 

Silk  goods  37,880,143 

Hides,  furs,  etc 37,759,608 

Cotton  goods 29,712,624 

Fruits  and  nuts 25,983,136 

Wood  and  manufactures 19,888,186 

Silk,  raw,  and  cocoons 19,076,081 

Wools 18.231,372 

India-rubber  and  gutta-percha,  crude 18,020.804 

Tobacco  and  manufactures 16.763.141 

Jewelry  and  precious  stones 14,635.494 

Leather  ami  manufactures 12,683,303 

Wines 10,007.060 

The  leading  exports  given  in  exchange  the  same  vear,  are  as 
follows  : 

VALUE   OF   PRINCIPAL   EXPORTS   IX    1891,    CLASSIFIED 

ARTICLES  VALUE 

Cotton $290.712,898 

Provisions,  comprising  meat  and  dairy  products. . .  .  139.017,471 

Wheat  and  wheat-flour 106.125,888 

Mineral  oils 52,026,734 

Cattle 30,445,249 

Iron  and  steel,  and  their  manufactures 28, 909, (514 

Wood,  and  its  manufactures  26,270.040 

Tobacco,  and  manufactures  of 25,220,472 

Maize 17,652,687 

Cotton  manufactures 13,604,857 

Leather,  and  manufactures  of 13,278,847 

Copper,  and  manufactures  of,  including  ore 11,875,490 

These  articles  of  import  and  export  are  illustrated  in  the  dia 
grams  on  page  212. 

Thus,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  agricultural  products  which 
our  climate  does  not  permit  us  to  produce,  our  imports  consist 


212  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

IMPORTS 


SUGAR  AND 
MOLASSES 


COFFEE__ 

IRON  AND  STEEL 

MANUFACTURES..-. 


VALUES  IN  MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 
10        20        30       40       50         60       70         80       90        100      110 


FLAX,  HEMP  AND 
JUTE    MANUF 


PRINCIPAL  ARTICLES  OF  FOREIGN  COMMERCE 


TRANSPO  R  TA  TTO  N 


213 


of  manufactured  articles.  Our  exports,  on  the  contrary,  consist 
almost  entirely  of  agricultural  products.  Our  farms  produce 
more  than  we  require.  Our  factories  are  not  yet  equal  to  the 
supply  of  the  home  market,  and  this  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that 
we  are  the  leading  manufacturing  nation  of  the  globe,  as  well  as 
the  iirst  in  agriculture. 


MILLIONS  OF 
DOLLARS 


1840          1850          1860          1870          1880 
IMPORTS  AND  EXPORTS,  1843  TO  1892 


1890 


The  total  value  of  our  foreign  trade  in  1892  was  $1,842,000,- 
0()0;  of  this  8827,000,000  consisted  of  imports,  and  $1,015,- 
000,000  of  exports.  The  balance  of  trade  was  in  our  favor,  and 
has  been  so,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  for  twenty  years.  The 
above  diagram  shows  the  value  of  our  imports  and  exports 
for  the  past  half  centurv.  Our  principal  foreign  trade  is  with 
Great  Britain,  with  which  country  it  amounted  in  1892  to 
over  $050.000, 000:  $494,000,000  being  exports  to,  and  but 
§156,000,000  imports  from,  that  country.  "We  send  her  mainly 
raw  cotton,  meat,  and  breadstuffs,  and  receive  from  her  a  great 
variety  of  manufactured  articles. 

Next  in   rank  are  Germany  and    France,   with  which   conn- 


214 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


tries  we  traded  to  the  extent  of  $187,000,000  and  $167,000,000, 
respectively.  In  the  case  of  both  these  countries  the  balance 
of  trade  was  against  us,  and  the  articles  of  exchange  were  quite 
similar  to  those  in  the  case  of  Great  Britain.  To  Brazil  we  sent 
but  $14,000,000  worth  of  goods,  and  received  from  her  not  less 
than  $119,000,000  worth,  most  of  it  being  coffee.  With  Canada 
we  had  a  limited  exchange  of  commodities  amounting  to 
$78,000,000,  exports  and  imports  being  almost  equal  in  amount. 
To  Cuba  we  sent  but  $18,000,000,  while  we  received  from  that 
island  $78,000,000,  mainly  sugar,  molasses,  and  tobacco. 

Of  the  entire  products  of  our  farms,  mines,  and  factories,  it  is 
estimated  that  less  than  nine  per  cent,  are  exported.  Of  the  agri 
cultural  products  alone,  this  country  spares  for  the  sustenance  of 
foreign  lands  fully  one-fourth.  Of  the  product  of  its  mines,  it 
sends  abroad  about  one-fifth ;  while  of  its  manufactured  prod 
ucts,  not  over  three  per  cent,  go  to  foreign  consumers. 

About  two-thirds  of  our  cotton  crop  are  annually  exported, 
mainly  to  Great  Britain.  Of  our  wheat  crop,  about  one-fifth 
goes  abroad,  and  of  corn  only  one-twentieth,  the  remainder  find 
ing  consumers  at  home. 

Shipbuilding. — The  building  of  vessels,  though  by  no 
means  a  prominent  industry,  is  not  a  lost  art  among  our  people. 
In  1892  1,395  vessels,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  very  nearly  200,- 
000  tons,  were  built  upon  our  shores.  These  were  as  follows : 


NUMBER  AND   TONNAGE  OF  VESSELS  BUILT   IN   1892 


Number 

Tonnage 

Sailing  vessels 

846 

83  217 

Steam  vessels 

438 

92  531 

Canal  boats                        

37 

4,580 

Barges 

74 

19,305 

1,395 

199,633 

It  should  be  added  that  the  tonnage  constructed  in  1892  was 
greater  than  for  many  years  previous,  which  suggests  a  possible 
revival  of  this  industry. 


TRANSPORTATION  215 


TELEGRAPH    LINES 

The  telegraph  lines  are  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  one 
corporation,  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company,  which  has 
absorbed  all  competing  companies,  and  holds  almost  as  complete 
a  monopoly  of  the  telegraph  business  as  does  the  general  govern 
ment  that  of  the  business  of  carrying  the  mails.  In  1892  there 
were  189,570  miles  of  telegraph  line  in  the  United  States,  on  which 
were  strung  739,105  miles  of  wire.  The  railroad  is  everywhere 
accompanied  by  the  telegraph,  and  the  latter  extends  but  little 
beyond  the  former.  The  number  of  offices  maintained  in  1890 
was  20,700,  and  the  number  of  messages  sent  during  the  year 
was  in  excess  of  02, 400,000,  being  nearly  one  message  for  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  country.  The  average  charge  per 
message  was  81.6  cents.  In  this  as  in  the  postal  service,  the  prof 
its  from  the  lines  between  the  great  cities  are  enormous ;  on  the 
other  hand,  many  thousands  of  miles  of  line  and  thousands  of 
offices  are  maintained  at  a  loss  to  the  company.  The  receipts 
from  the  telegraph  service,  in  1890,  reached  an  aggregate  of 
823,700.000.  the  expenses  were  $16,300,000,  and  the  profits 
$7,400,000. 

TELEPHONES 

Among  the  agencies  of  transportation  the  telephone  must  be 
classed  with  the  telegraph.  Although  of  recent  introduction, 
its  use  has  spread  and  increased  with  wonderful  rapidity.  The 
entire  service  is  practically  in  the  hands  of  one  concern,  the 
American  Bell  Telephone  Company,  the  other  companies  being 
of  trifling  importance.  In  1892  the  capital  invested  in  the  tele 
phone  interests,  including  both  the  parent  company  and  its  sub 
sidiary  companies,  was  $80,000,000,  the  great  bulk  of  it  proba 
bly  representing  franchises.  The  gross  earnings  of  the  parent 
company  alone  were  §5,127,000,  and  its  net  dividends  were 
§1,320,000  The  number  of  instruments  in  use  was  512,417;  the 
number  of  miles  of  wire,  266,456  ;  and  the  number  of  subscribers 
served,  216,017. 


216  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 


STREET   RAILWAYS 

The  street  railway  is  an  American  invention.  Long  before  it 
occurred  to  the  people  of  any  other  nation  that  the  means  of 
locomotion  afforded  by  nature  were  deficient  in  the  element  of 
speed,  we  set  about  the  work  of  supplying  the  deficiency. 
More  than  a  generation  ago  the  streets  of  our  larger  cities  were 
intersected  by  lines  of  railway  over  which  cars  were  drawn  by 
horses  or  mules  ;  and  in  1891  we  had,  in  all,  9,662  miles  of  street 
railway. 

It  is  only  within  recent  years  that  substitutes  have  been  found 
for  horse-power.  The  cable  system  was  the  first  to  materialize, 
and  it  has  been  applied  widely  and  with  economy  on  routes  pos 
sessing  a  heavy  traffic.  Still  more  recently  methods  have  been 
devised  for  using  electricity;  the  one  most  highly  developed, 
and  at  present  the  most  economical,  both  as  regards  the  trans 
mission  of  power  and  economj-  of  construction,  is  that  known  as 
the  overhead  trolley  system.  The  underground  trolley,  which 
involves  heavy  expense  in  construction,  is  coining  into  use,  and 
is  likely  to  become  the  most  practical  system  for  crooked  routes 
in  the  closely  built  parts  of  cities  where  trolley  wires  cannot 
safely  be  strung  overhead.  The  storage  battery  system  is  still 
in  the  experimental  stage,  and  no  economical  method  of  apply 
ing  it  to  transportation  has  yet  been  devised. 

The  use  of  power  for  driving  street  cars  means  an  increase  of 
speed  and  a  corresponding  reduction  in  distance,  if  it  be  meas 
ured  in  terms  of  time. 

The  construction  of  electric  roads,  operated  by  the  overhead 
trolley  system,  is  going  on  with  enormous  rapidity.  They  are 
built  and  operated  so  cheaply  that  routes  are  made  to  pay  even 
in  the  small  towns.  Moreover,  it  has  been  found  commercially 
possible  to  operate  roads  between  small  places,  and  there  is  now 
a  rapidly  growing  system  of  electric  roads  subsidiary  to  and  con 
nected  with  the  steam  railway  systems  of  the  country.  In  1892 
there  were  385  electric  roads  in  operation  throughout  the  United 
States,  having  a  capital  of  $155,000,000,  and  operating  3,980 
miles  of  road. 


THANSPOR  TA  TION  2 1 7 

These  roads  are  built  not  only  for  the  direct  profits  from  their 
operation,  but  also  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  into  the  market 
and  enhancing  the  value  of  suburban  subdivisions  of  land.  In 
deed,  they  are  so  used  to  an  astonishing  extent — a  fact  that  snw- 
gests  the  probable  effect  which  this  means  of  rapid  transit  mav 
produce  upon  our  cities.  As  has  been  pointed  out  in  earlier 
pages,  it  is  the  fate  of  all  countries,  and  of  all  parts  of  this  coun 
try,  to  consist  mainly  of  urban  population.  As  our  cities  be 
come  larger  they  must  either  become  more  and  more  crowded, 
each  person  having  fewer  square  feet  in  which  to  live  and  move 
and  have  his  being,  or  they  must  spread  outward.  Heretofore, 
owing  to  the  limitations  of  time,  the  tendency  has  been  to  accom 
modate  the  increase  of  population  b\r  crowding.  The  extreme 
of  this  crowding  is  seen  in  the  tenement -ho  use  district  of  New 
York,  while  even  well-to-do  classes  of  that  citv  have  been  forced 
to  live  in  flats,  the  buildings  spreading  upward  instead  of  out 
ward. 

The  development  of  electric  railways  is  changing  all  this  and 
making  it  possible  for  the  citv  to  spread  outward  to  many  times 
its  present  area,  without  requiring  the  denizen  of  the  suburb  to 
devote  more  time  to  travel,  morning  and  evening,  than  it  for 
merly  took  for  him  to  journey  downtown  from  his  flat,  behind  a 
pan*  ol  jaded  car  horses. 

The  city  of  the  future  will,  thanks  to  electric  roads,  be  spread 
out  broadly  over  the  land.  Every  dwelling  will  be  a  cottage 
with  its  plat  of  ground,  and  the  tenement-house  and  the  flat  will 
gradually  disappear  with  other  relics  of  barbarism. 


MAIL     SERVICE 

As  in  most  civilized  countries,  the  business  of  transporting 
and  handling  the  mail  matter  is  in  the  hands  of  the  general  gov 
ernment,  and  its  volume  is  enormous.  It  is  conducted  with  little 
regard  to  cost,  the  primary  object  being  to  best  serve  the  public 
needs.  Thus  mail  routes  are  maintained  not  only  in  the  thickly 
settled  parts  of  the  country,  where  every  convenience  is  afforded; 
but  in  the  wildest  and  most  remote  sections,  through  the  rnoun- 


218  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

tains  of  the  south,  and  the  deserts  and  mountains  of  the  far 
west,  where  the  service  must  of  necessity  be  maintained  at  a  loss, 
it  is  nevertheless  conducted  promptly  and  efficiently. 

The  receipts  from  the  densely  settled  parts  of  the  country, 
especially  from  the  routes  between  the  great  cities,  are  greatly 
in  excess  of  the  expenditures,  and  go  far  toward  meeting  the 
deficit  in  the  remote  and  sparsely  settled  regions.  Still,  it  has 
been  many  years  since  the  postal  service  paid  its  expenses. 
There  is  usually  a  deficit  ranging  from  $2,000,000  to  $6,000,000 
annually.  In  1892,  67,119  post-offices  were  maintained,  by  far 
the  greater  number  being  petty  offices.  The  extent  of  post- 
routes  was  447,591  miles.  The  expenses  in  that  year  were 
$76,000,000,  and  the  receipts  $71,000,000,  showing  a  deficit  of 
$5,000,000.  The  amount  of  mail  handled  was  not  less  than 
7,865,000,000  pieces ;  this  was  an  average  of  125  pieces  for  each 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  nation,  a  number  far  exceeding 
that  in  any  other  country,  Great  Britain  not  excepted. 


FINANCE   AND    WEALTH 


THE  total  amount  of  circulating  media  used  in  the  United 
States  in  the  year  1891,  was  $1,175,000,000.  This  does  not 
take  account  of  the  gold,  silver,  and  paper  money  held  in  the 
United  States  Treasury,  which,  if  added,  would  increase  the 
sum  total  to  §2,014,000,000.  Of  the  money  in  circulation, 
$524,000,000  were  in  coin,  consisting  of  $407.000,000  in  gold, 
$59,000,000  in  silver,  and  $5^,000,000  in  fractional  silver.  The 
balance  was  paper  money,  classified  as  follows  : 

MOXKY    IX    CIRCULATION'   IX    1S!)1 

Gold  certificates $120,000,000 

Silver  certificates  :-J07,0(X),000 

Currency  cert ilicates 22,000,000 

United  States  lepil  tender  notes 40,000,000 

National  hank  notes 1(>2,000;000 

The  composition  of  our  circulating  media  is  illustrated  in  the 
diagram,  Plate  39,  facing  page  220. 

All  attempts  to  force  the  silver  dollar  into  actual  circulation 
have  failed,  on  account  of  its  inconvenience  as  a  circulating 
medium.  Of  419,000,000  silver  dollars  coined,  all  except  $60,- 
000,000  lie  in  the  Treasury,  being  represented  in  the  circulation 
by  silver  certificates,  which  are  used  in  preference  to  the  coin 
itself.  To  a  certain  extent  this  is  also  true  of  gold,  of  which 
$138,000,000  lie  in  the  Treasury,  part  of  it  being  represented  in 
the  circulation  !>v  gold  certificates.  Indeed,  gold,  and  silver 
also  except  as  fractional  currency,  are  seldom  seen  in  the  eastern 
and  northern  sections  of  the  country.  At  the  south,  silver 
dollars  are  much  more  common  ;  and  throughout  the  far  west, 
especially  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  gold  coin  is  in  extensive  use, 
supplanting  paper  money  to  a  great  extent. 


220  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

The   total    coinage   of   the  United    States   in    1890,    was   as 

follows  : 

COINAGE  IN  1890,   CLASSIFIED 

Gold $20,500,000 

Silver 89,200,000 

Minor  silver 1 ,400,000 


Total $61,100,000 

The  coinage  is  executed  mainly  at  the  San  Francisco  mint, 
established  in  1854,  and  that  at  Philadelphia  (1793).  There  are 
two  other  mints,  at  New  Orleans  (1838)  and  Carson  City,  Nev. 
(1870).  The  so-called  mint  at  Denver  is  used  only  as  an  assay 
office. 

The  total  amount  of  gold  coinage  minted  from  1793  to  1892 
inclusive — just  one  hundred  years — was  $1,582,000,000,  of  silver 
coinage  $657,000,000,  and  of  minor  coins  $24,000,000. 

NATIONAL   BANKS 

Most  American  citizens  who  have  reached  years  of  discretion 
can  remember  the  old  state  banks  and  their  circulating  notes. 
They  can  recall  how  uncertain  was  the  value  of  these  notes, 
depending  upon  the  ability  of  the  bank  to  meet  its  obligations. 
They  can  remember  the  necessity  for  exchanging  notes  of  one 
locality  for  those  of  another  when  traveling  about  the  country, 
just  as  one  is  now  obliged  to  exchange  American  for  British 
money  when  crossing  the  ocean. 

All  these  uncertainties,  inconveniences,  and  losses  were  re 
lieved  by  the  institution  of  the  national  banking  system  in  1863. 
The  circulation  of  the  national  banks  is  guaranteed  by  the 
general  government,  so  that  the  individual  character  and  stand 
ing  of  the  bank  is  of  no  moment  whatever  to  the  person  holding 
its  notes.  To  obtain  this  security  and  thereby  enable  it  to  issue 
notes,  each  national  bank  is  required  to  deposit  with  the  United 
States  Treasury  an  amount  ten  per  cent,  in  excess  of  its  circula 
tion,  of  United  States  bonds,  with  which,  in  case  of  necessity, 
the  government  redeems  its  notes. 


THE  BUILDING    OF  A   NATION 
PLATE   39 


THE   CIRCULATING    MEDIA   IN  1893 


FINANCE  AND    WEALTH  221 

Upon  the  institution  of  the  national  banking  system,  the  cir 
culation  of  state  banks  disappeared  at  once,  and  the  national 
system  grew  with  unexampled  rapidity.  In  1891  the  national 
banks  numbered  3,077.  They  had  a  capital  of  §677,400,000, 
and  resources  amounting  to  $3,213,000,000. 


SAVINGS   BANKS 

Savings  banks  are  supported  mainly  by  the  poorer  classes, 
those  whose  savings  are  limited  in  amount,  and  the  measure  of 
the  success  of  such  hanks  is  a  verv  good  measure  of  the  pros 
perity  of  those  classes.  In  the  year  1891  there  were  throughout 
the  United  States  1,011  of  this  class  of  banks.  Their  depositors 
numbered  no  less  than  -1.533,217,  and  the  total  amount  of  deposits 
was  $1,623,000,000,  an  average  of  $358  to  each  depositor.  The 
total  assets  of  these  banks  were  $1,855,000,000.  In  recent  years 
the  savings  banks  have  increased  greatly  in  number  and  in  the 
amount  of  their  deposits,  showing,  as  far  as  thev  may  be  taken 
to  indicate  it,  an  exceedingly  prosperous  condition  of  the  work 
ing  classes. 

The  building  associations,  which,  in  certain  large  cities,  such 
as  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Washington,  have  taken  the  place 
of  savings  banks,  are  in  a  correspondingly  nourishing  condition. 


WEALTH 

The  wealth  of  a  nation  is  a  matter  of  estimate  only.  Certain 
of  its  elements  are  susceptible  of  being  approximated  more 
closely  than  others  ;  but  few  of  them  can  be  given  with  greater 
certainty  or  accuracy  than  is  expressed  in  the  word  "estimate." 

Methods  of  Estimating'.— An  illustration  of  the  method 
used  for  determining  the  wealth  of  a  nation,  is  given  in  the 
estimates  of  the  wealth  of  the  United  States  made  in  connection 
with  the  tenth  census,  in  1880 ;  a  description  of  it  will  enable  the 
reader  to  form  his  own  measure  of  the  amount  of  dependence 
to  be  placed  upon  results  of  this  character. 


222  THE   BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

In  the  first  place,  the  value  of  tangible  objects  only  was  in 
cluded  in  the  estimate,  and  only  intrinsic  values  were  admitted. 
No  account  whatever  was  taken  of  notes,  bonds,  and  other 
promises  to  pay,  whether  public  or  private  ;  since,  whatever  may 
be  their  value  to  the  holder,  they  diminish  the  property  of  the 
maker  in  exactly  the  same  degree,  and  therefore  do  not  affect 
the  wealth  of  the  country  as  a  whole. 

First  in  importance  among  these  tangible  objects,  is  land  and 
its  improvements.  The  assessed  value  of  this  item  was  obtained 
from  county  and  state  authorities.  As  is  well  known,  the  assessed 
valuation  is  almost  universally  less  than  the  true  value,  and  that 
in  varying  proportions.  In  some  cases  the  assessment  is  as  low 
as  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  true  value,  while  in  others  it 
approximates  closely  thereto.  In  order  to  obtain  this  relation 
of  assessed  to  true  value  of  real  estate,  an  extensive  correspond 
ence  was  had  with  assessors,  real  estate  dealers,  officers  of  banks 
and  building  associations,  and  other  classes  of  persons  who  have 
to  do  with  buying  and  selling  real  estate  and  loaning  money 
upon  it.  The  information  received  from  these  sources  was 
digested,  state  by  state;  and  the  net  result,  in  the  form  of  a 
proportion  between  assessed  and  true  values,  was  applied  to  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  state,  thus  approximating  the  true 
valuation. 

The  value  of  our  railway  system  was  assumed  to  be  equal  to 
the  cost  of  construction  and  equipment,  as  reported  by  the  rail 
way  companies,  and  similarly  with  the  property  of  telegraph 
and  telephone  companies,  and  with  shipping  and  canals.  The 
value  of  live  stock,  farming  tools,  and  farm  machinery  was 
accepted  as  returned  upon  the  farm  schedules  of  the  census,  as 
was  also  the  value  of  mines. 

A  certain  proportion  of  the  annual  product  of  agriculture, 
manufactures,  and  mines  was  assumed  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
dealers  and  shippers,  and  this  was  accepted  as  returned  by  the 
enumerators.  The  amount  of  specie  was  accepted  as  returned 
by  the  Treasury  Department.  The  value  of  household  furniture, 
clothing,  and  other  personal  belongings,  which  taken  collectively 
is  a  large  item,  can  be  a  matter  of  estimate  only  ;  it  was  esti 
mated  in  different  ways,  and  the  results  agreed  sufficiently  well 


FINANCE  AND    WEALTH  223 

to  serve  as  some  sort  of  verification  of  one  another.  The  value 
of  real  estate  exempt  from  taxation,  was  given  in  the  reports 
of  many  of  the  state  auditors,  and  its  total  amount  in  the 
country  was  estimated  on  the  basis  of  that  in  the  states  where  it 
was  thus  made  known. 

In  this  way  the  estimate  published  in  the  census  report  of 
18SO  was  obtained.  It  showed  that  the  wealth  of  the  country 
at  that  time  was  approximately  $43,642.000,000,  or  an  average 
of  $870  to  each  inhabitant. 

Wealth  in  189O. — Just  now  it  is  impossible  to  make  a 
similar  independent  estimate  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  in 
1890,  inasmuch  as  little  of  the  necessary  data  is  yet  available. 
But  assuming  that  the  ratio  of  the  total  wealth  to  the  assessed 
valuation  of  property,  real  and  personal,  remains  the  same  as  in 
1880,  the  wealth  of  the  country  in  1890  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  $62,000,000,000,  or  very  nearly  $1,000  per  capita.  In  1880 
the  United  States  was  the  wealthiest  of  all  nations,  and  unques 
tionably  the  decade  just  passed  has  widened  the  gap  between  it 
and  its  closest  competitor,  Great  Britain. 

In  earlier  censuses  different  and  inferior  methods  have  been 
employed  for  making  these  estimates,  and  the  results  have  been 
correspondingly  less  trustworthy.  The  usual  custom  has  been 
to  obtain  the  assessed  valuation  of  all  property,  real  and 
personal,  and  with  it  estimates  of  the  relation  between  this 
assessed  valuation  and  the  true  value,  by  applying  which,  figures 
for  the  latter  were  obtained.  In  most  cases  this  has  probably 
resulted  in  an  underestimate  of  wealth,  from  two  causes  :  One  is 
the  fact  that  a  vast  and  increasing  amount  of  personal  property  is 
never  reported  to  the  assessor.  As  a  rule,  the  personal  element 
of  property  is  approximately  equal  in  value  to  the  real  estate. 
In  1860.  however,  the  assessed  valuation  of  real  estate  was  returned 
as  about  $7,000,000,000,  and  of  personal  property  only  $5,100.- 
000,000,  showing  a  probable  shortage  in  the  personal  element,  of 
between  $1,000,000,000  and  $2,000,000.000.  In  1870  the  assessed 
value  of  real  estate  was  returned  as  $9,900,000,000,  while  that 
of  personal  property  had  apparently  diminished  to  $4,300,000,- 
000.  The  corresponding  figures  in  1880  were  $13,000,000,000 
and  $3,900,000.000,  respectively.  Thus  in  twenty  years  the 


224 


THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 


assessed  value  of  personal  property  had  fallen  from  $5,100,000,- 
000  to  $3,900,000,000,  an  apparent  diminution  of  $1,200,000,000, 
and  this  in  the  face  of  an  extraordinary  increase  in  values 
everywhere.  Moreover,  while  the  value  of  personal  property  is 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  equal  to  that  of  real  estate,  in  1880  it  was 
apparently  worth  much  less  than  one-third.  The  explanation 
lies  simply  in  the  fact  that  a  greater  proportion  of  the  personal 
element  had,  on  one  pretext  or  another,  escaped  the  assessor. 

This  formed  one  source  of  error  in  the  method  used  prior  to 
1880  in  determining  the  true  valuation.  The  other  lay  in  the 
omission  of  a  greater  or  less  proportion  of  the  property  legally 
exempt  from  taxation.  In  1880  this  was  estimated  at  $2,000,- 
000,000,  or  about  one-twenty-second  part  of  the  entire  wealth  of 
the  nation,  figures  that  serve  to  measure  the  possible  extent  of 
this  class  of  omissions.  In  1870,  however,  strenuous  efforts  were 
made  to  secure  the  data  concerning  this  element,  and  it  is  prob 
able  that  they  were  fairly  successful. 

In  1890  the  wealth  of  the  country  was  distributed  very 
unevenly.  The  northern  and  western  states  were  far  wealthier 
in  proportion  to  population  than  those  of  the  south,  since 
wealth  is  massed  in  the  great  manufacturing  states  and  within 
their  great  cities. 

Historical  Resume.  —  The  following  table  shows  the 
total  and  per  capita  wealth  of  the  United  States  at  the  date  of 
each  census  since  1850.  This  is  illustrated  also  in  the  diagram 
on  page  225. 


TOTAL  AND  PER  CAPITA  WEALTH,    BY  DROADES 


YEAR 

Total  Wealth 

Wealth  per  Capita 

1850                                                             

$7  136  000  000 

$808 

I860      

16,160  000,000 

514 

1870  

30.0(59,000,000 

780 

1880 

43  642  000  000 

870 

IS'.M)                .                                              .           ... 

62  600  000  000 

1  000 

The  next  table  presents  the  rate  of  increase  of  wealth   from 
census  to  census : 


FINANCE  AX  I)    WEALTH 


225 


RATE  OF   INCREASE  OP   WEALTH,    BY   DECADES 


DKCADK 
1850-00  .  .  .  . 

1800-70  

1870-80  .  . 


RATE  OF  INCREASE 
120.5 

85.5 

.  45.0 


1880-90 .  43.0 


BILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 
0  6  1.2  1.8  24  3.0  3fi  42  43  5.4  60  66 


1860  

1  R7f> 

= 

— 

mam 

1  88D 

1890— 

TOTAL  WEALTH  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


HUNDREDS  OF  DOLLARS 


( 
1850 

p 

j 

__ 

!          r 

j          ' 
1 

\          i 

>           f 

r          £ 

! 

)             1 

1  ftfiO 

1  870 

1  ftQO 

WEALTH    PER  CAPITA 

In  18f)0  manufactures,  trade,  and  commerce  in  tins  country 
were  in  an  undeveloped  stage.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  were 
engaged  in  farming,  and  wealth  was  more  uniformly  distributed 
than  at  present.  The  people  were  more  widely  scattered,  lines  of 
communication  were  few  and  poor,  and  each  family  was  much 
more  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  community  than  at  present 
The  farmer  produced  the  food,  and,  to  a  large  extent,  the  cloth 
ing  and  other  necessaries  for  his  family.  There  was  much  less 
interchange  of  commodities. 

During  the  ten  years  between  1850  and  lsP>0  there  was  an 
increase  of  wealth  per  capita  over  and  above  the  increase  of  pop 
ulation,  amounting  to  sixty-seven  per  cent.  With  the  develop 
ment  of  manufactures  and  trade,  which  was  going  on  apace  in 
15 


226  TnE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

the  northern  states,  there  was  also  a  great  increase  in  valuations, 
which  accounted  for  a  large  part  of  this  increased  wealth  of  the 
country. 

The  decade  between  1860  and  1870  witnessed  several  great 
changes.  The  first  of  these  in  importance  was  the  civil  war, 
and  its  effects  upon  wealth  were  confined  mainly  to  the  south. 
In  that  section  of  the  country  values  were  greatly  depreciated. 
Vast  quantities  of  property  were  destroyed,  and  the  labor  of 
practically  the  whole  adult  male  element  was  taken  away  from 
production  for  a  period  of  about  four  years.  Moreover,  the  abo 
lition  of  slavery  destroyed,  nominally  at  least,  a  vast  body  of 
wealth,  which  had  a  value,  at  the  lowest  estimate,  of  a  billion 
and  a  quarter  of  dollars.  The  net  result  of  all  this  was  that  the 
southern  states,  which  had  formerly  held  a  high  rank  in  respect 
of  wealth  in  proportion  to  population,  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the 
scale. 

The  north,  on  the  other  hand,  gained  greatly  in  wealth,  both 
during  and  after  the  war.  Although  between  one  and  two  mil 
lions  of  men  were  withdrawn  from  productive  pursuits  through 
out  the  period  of  the  war,  still  its  prosecution  stimulated  and 
enlarged  production  in  such  a  degree  as  to  more  than  compen 
sate  for  this  loss.  Moreover,  the  extension  of  all  kinds  of  busi 
ness  during  the  war  period  wonderfully  increased  the  value  of 
real  property.  Indeed,  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  northern 
and  western  states  was  advanced  during  these  ten  years  56  per 
cent,  while  that  of  the  former  wealthy  states  of  the  south  dimin 
ished  34  per  cent.  The  true  wealth  of  the  northern  and  western 
states  increased  159  per  cent.,  while  that  of  the  south  decreased 
over  18  per  cent.  In  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Missis 
sippi,  and  Texas,  the  wealth  of  1870  was  less  than  half  that  of 
1860.  The  net  result  to  the  nation,  however,  was  a  large  increase 
of  wealth  in  proportion  to  population,  being  at  the  rate  of  52  per 
cent,  per  capita. 

Between  1870  and  1880  there  was  great  business  depression 
and  a  shrinkage  in  values,  extending  quite  generally  throughout 
the  country.  This  was  caused  probably  by  excessive  produc 
tion,  which  was  stimulated  by  the  war  and  continued  after  its 
close  with  increasing  momentum,  through  the  addition  to  the 


FINANCE  AND    WEALTH  227 

industrial  army  of  the  Eepublic  of  the  vast  military  force  released 
from  service.  For  several  years  the  country  had  been  producing 
more  than  it  needed  to  consume ;  deterred  to  a  great  extent  from 
offering  its  wares  in  foreign  markets  by  the  high  prices  induced 
at  home  by  its  protective  tariff,  the  natural  result  of  an  over 
stocked  market  followed.  Prices  fell,  values  shrank,  and  there 
were  widespread  commercial  failures.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
decade  business  revived  and  values  rose  again.  Were  it  possible 
to  make  an  estimate  of  our  wealth  in  1875,  the  result  would 
doubtless  show  that  the  country  was  poorer  than  it  had  been 
live  years  before.  In  1880,  however,  it  had  much  more  than 
recovered  the  lost  ground  ;  the  wealth  per  capita  had  increased 
from  $780  to  $870,  a  gain  of  $90  per  capita,  or  at  the  rate  of  11-J 
per  cent. 

Between  1880  and  1890  there  is  little  to  record  except  an 
almost  unbroken  course  of  prosperity.  There  have  been  slight 
oscillations,  but  none  of  a  general  or  serious  character.  We  find 
that  in  1890  the  per  capita  wealth  had  increased  from  $870  to 
about  Si, 000,  or  at  the  rate  of  15  per  cent. 

Thus  close  the  four  decades  in  the  history  of  the  wealth  of 
the  country.  In  these  forty  years  our  population  has  increased 
from  23.000,000  to  63,000,000,  a  gain  of  171  per  cent.  Our 
wealth  has  increased  from  $7,13<>,000,000  to  *r>2,r>00,000,000,  be 
ing  now  nearly  nine  times  as  great  as  in  1850.  It  has  increased 
from  an  average  of  $308  to  $1,000  per  capita,  and  the  United 
States,  from  being  one  of  the  poorest  of  civilized  nations,  has 
become  by  far  the  richest  of  them  all. 

Assessed  Valuation  in  189O.— The  map  on  Plate  40, 
facing  page  228,  shows  the  distribution  of  the  assessed  valuation 
of  the  country  in  1890,  among  the  states.  While  it  measurably 
fails  in  presenting  the  relative  true  wealth  of  the  several  states, 
owing  to  the  variable  relation  between  the  assessed  and  the  true 
valuation,  it  serves  to  bring  out  the  main  features  of  the  geo 
graphical  distribution  of  wealth.  The  great  preponderance  of 
the  northern  states  in  wealth,  and  the  comparative  poverty  of 
the  south,  are  forcibly  depicted. 

Sources  of  Wealth. — Whence  comes  this  vast  increase 
of  wealth,  which,  decade  by  decade,  has  been  added  to  our 


228  THE  BUILDING   OF  A    NATION 

capital?  It  is  only  in  small  part  the  product  of  our  farms, 
factories,  and  mines.  Nearly  all  of  this  product  is  consumed  in 
the  support  of  our  people.  We  eat  it  or  wear  it.  The  part 
which  we  send  to  other  countries  is  balanced  by  what  we  receive 
from  them,  and  that  also  is  consumed.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
vast  majority  of  the  additions  to  our  national  capital  consist  in 
improvements  upon  land,  in  buildings,  machinery,  and  railwavs, 
and  in  the  appreciation  of  values,  especially  those  of  land. 

In  this  country  the  last  item  is  the  one  of  greatest  importance. 
The  increase  in  the  value  of  land  has  been  enormous.  To  ap 
preciate  its  extent,  one  has  but  to  compare  the  former  value  of  a 
city's  site  with  its  present  value ;  for  example,  the  worthless 
desert  which  constituted  the  site  of  Denver  thirty  years  ago, 
with  its  value  per  square  foot  to-day.  This  is  man's  work.  He 
alone  has  given  to  the  land  its  value. 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   WEALTH 

The  United  States  is  worth  to-day  $62,600,000,000,  an  average, 
as  already  stated,  of  about  $1,000  for  every  man,  woman,  and 
child.  But  how  is  our  vast  wealth  distributed?  Is  the  bulk  of 
it  owned  by  comparatively  few,  and  are  the  great  masses  of 
people  poor?  Or  is  there  some  approach  to  uniformity  in  the 
distribution  ?  Is  the  tendency  toward  concentration  of  wealth 
into  few  hands,  or  the  reverse?  These  are  questions  of  vital 
importance. 

We  know  that  the  country  contains  many  poor  people  and  few 
millionaires,  and  we  know  that  the  number  and  wealth  of  the 
few  are  increasing.  We  know  also,  Henry  George  to  the  con 
trary  notwithstanding,  that  the  poor  are  not  becoming  poorer  as 
the  rich  become  richer  ;  but  that  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  they 
share  in  the  general  prosperity.  We  know,  too,  that  while  all 
classes  are  becoming  richer,  those  near  the  top  of  the  scale  are 
increasing  in  wealth  faster  than  those  near  the  bottom;  so  that 
the  differences  in  pecuniary  circumstances  are  becoming  more 
pronounced. 

An  estimate  of  the  distribution  of  wealth  in  the  United  States 


FINANCE  AND    WEALTH 


229 


has  recently  been  made,  which  gives  at  least  an  approximate 
idea  of  the  degree  of  inequality  in  the  holdings  of  our  people. 
It  was  obtained  in  the  following  manner:  The  wage-earners  of 
the  country,  by  which  are  to  be  understood  all  those  engaged  in 
occupations  of  whatever  character  for  pecuniary  reward,  were 
grouped  for  convenience  as  business  men — including  bankers, 
manufacturers,  merchants,  etc. — professional  'men,  clerks,  far 
mers,  skilled  laborers,  and  unskilled  laborers.  The  business 
group  was  classiiied  as  to  wealth  by  the  aid  of  the  Bradstreet 
book  of  ratings.  The  professional  group,  a  small  one,  was 
classiiied  by  estimate.  The  farmers  were  classiiied  by  the  aid  of 
the  classification  of  farms,  according  to  size,  as  given  by  the 
census:  and  the  other  groups,  composed  of  men  having  small 
holdings,  were  classiiied  by  estimate. 

The  classification  of  these  groups,  expressed  in  percentages  of 
the  total  number  of  wage  earners,  shows  the  following: 

HOLDINGS   OF    THE    DIFFERENT   CLASSICS    OF    WAGE    EARNERS 


Business          Profes.      i     T,  ( 'kTk  -  an-!       1'vskillecl 

Class  Class  ;      Skilled  Lali.        Labor. 


P.i'lmv  $1,000 

$1,000  to  $10,000 

$10,000  to  $100,000 

$100,000  to  $1.000,000  .  . 
Above  $1,000,000 


25.0 

4.S 
0.2 

100.0 


40      25 

50 

100 

50       i-\ 

50 

<)        2 

.  . 

1 

100 

100 

100 

100 

The  following   table,   which    classifies  all   wage  earners,  was 
obtained  bv  consolidating  the  columns  of  the  preceding  one  : 

HOLDINGS  OF   ALL   WAGE  EARNERS 


PROPORTION  OF  TOTAL  Xo. 
IV r  cents. 

(50.00 

JJ7.24 

2.47 

0.28 


Below  $1,000 

$1,000  to  $10,000    

$10,000  to  $100,000 

$100,000  to  $1.000,000 

Over  $1,000,000 0.01 

Thus  it    appears    that    ninety-five   humlredths    of    the   wage 
earners  probably  own  less  than  $10,000  each,  and  9,971   out  of 


230  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

every   10,000  own  less  than  $100,000  each.      Only  one  wage 
earner  in  10.000  is  a  millionaire. 

So  much  for  the  distribution  of  the  wage-earners ;  now  glance 
at  the  distribution  of  wealth.  The  following  table  shows  this, 
expressed  in  percentages  of  the  total  wealth  of  the  country : 

DISTRIBUTION  OF   WEALTH  IN   PERCENTAGES  OF  THE  TOTAL 

Per  cents. 

Below  $1,000 6 

$1,000  to  $10,000 37 

$10,000  to  $100,000 25 

$100,000  to  $1,000,000 27 

Over  $1,000,000 5 

From  this  it  appears  that  only  5  per  cent,  of  the  capital  is 
owned  by  millionaires,  and  only  27  per  cent,  by  the  next  most 
wealthy  class.  Nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  property  of  the 
country  is  held  in  sums  ranging  from  $1,000  to  $1,000,000. 

Thus  we  find  that  one  ten-thousandth  of  the  wage  earners 
possess  one-twentieth  of -the  property,  and  that  twenty-eight 
hundredths  of  one  per  cent,  of  their  number  own  27  per  cent., 
or  more  than  a  fourth,  of  the  wealth  of  the  country.  On  the 
other  hand,  three-fifths  of  the  wage  earners  have  but  one-six 
teenth  of  the  wealth. 


A  FORECAST  OF  THE  FUTURE 


IN  the  preceding  pages  our  nation's  progress  has  been  traced 
for  a  centurv,  in  territory,  population,  and  industries;  in  the 
development  of  its  resources,  and  of  its  wealth.  At  the  begin 
ning  the  United  States  was  one  of  the  feeblest  and  poorest  of 
civilized  nations.  To-day,  in  numbers  and  power,  in  industry 
and  wealth,  it  leads  them  all.  It  is  the  exponent  to  the  world 
of  all  that  makes  civilization.  Its  history,  that  marvelous 
history  which  we  have  tried  to  picture,  will  forever  serve 
humanity  as  an  object-lesson  of  the  beneficent  results  of  perfect 
freedom  in  thought  and  action. 

The  spectacle  afforded  by  this  wonderful  development  under 
the  freest  of  governments,  has  already  borne  abundant  fruit 
among  the  monarchies  of  Europe.  Its  influence  has  been  ex 
erted  quietly,  but  with  the  greatest  effect.  The  absence  of 
classes  in  this  country  has  tended  to  break  down  the  barriers  of 
caste  in  the  older  ones.  Universality  of  citizenship  on  this  side 
of  the  water  has  aided  in  its  extension  upon  the  other  side,  and 
the  high  standard  of  living  among  the  masses  here  has  helped 
to  elevate  the  condition  of  the  serfs  of  Europe. 

The  Government. — What  will  be  our  future?  Is  our 
form  of  government  destined  to  endure?  "With  ignorance  born 
of  selfishness  and  prejudice,  the  older  nations  of  Europe  a 
century  ago,  and  for  many  years  thereafter,  condemned  as 
weak  and  vacillating  a  government  in  which  the  people  were 
allowed  to  rule  themselves.  Our  civil  war  undeceived  them. 
For  four  years,  the  United  States  prosecuted  a  war  of  self-pres 
ervation,  upon  a  scale  unknown  to  history,  with  uniform  single 
ness  of  purpose,  pouring  out  blood  and  treasure  without  stint, 
and  fought  it  to  a  successful  finish. 

Neither  adversity  nor  prosperity  has  developed  any  material 


232  THE  BUILDING  OF  A  NATION 

weakness  in  the  fundamental  idea  of  our  government.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  for  a  moment,  that  a  government  by  all  the  peo 
ple  possesses  less  strength  or  tenacity  of  purpose  than  a  govern 
ment  by  one  person  ;  the  former  is  infinitely  the  stronger,  just 
as  the  power  of  many  men  is  greater  that  that  of  one  man;  and 
a  government  in  which  all  participate,  and  whose  officers  are 
simply  the  agents  of  the  people,  is  necessarily  stronger  than  one 
which  is  above  and  over  them,  and  in  which  they  take  no  part 
and  can  have  but  little  interest. 

There  appears  to  be  no  reasonable  question  as  to  the  perma 
nence  of  our  institutions  and  form  of  government.  There  is 
every  probability  that  they  will  increase  in  strength  as  the 
nation  increases  in  numbers  and  in  wealth. 

No  government  ever  stands  still ;  least  of  all,  the  government 
of  an  active,  progressive  nation.  We  cannot  expect  ours,  excel 
lent  as  it  is,  and  well  suited  to  our  needs,  to  remain  the  same. 
Even  under  existing  conditions  it  is  susceptible  of  great  im 
provement;  and  as  these  conditions  change,  as  change  they  will, 
it  must  in  turn  be  modified  to  meet  the  new  demands  upon  it. 

The  government  will  develop,  not  on  socialistic  lines,  which 
tend  to  make  the  people  dependent  upon  it ;  but  under  the 
opposite  policy  of  making  them  individually  independent  and 
responsible.  Thus  and  thus  only  can  the  highest  development 
of  man  be  reached.  The  aim  of  the  public  school  system  is  to 
fit  the  American  youth  for  freedom  and  citizenship,  and  the 
training  commenced  in  the  schools  is  carried  forward  in  the 
town  meeting,  where  he  takes  his  part  in  the  affairs  of  govern 
ment.  The  township  system  of  local  government  will  be  ex 
tended  to  all  parts  of  our  jurisdiction.  A  man's  feeling  of 
responsibility,  and  his  usefulness  as  a  citizen,  are  increased  by 
the  ownership  of  land  and  a  home;  and  the  private  ownership 
of  land  will  be  encouraged  by  the  government  of  the  future,  as  it 
has  been  encouraged  in  the  past. 

The  government  will  undertake  for  the  people  only  those 
matters  which  it  can  do  better  than  they  can  do  in  their  individ 
ual  capacity.  In  other  words,  it  will  supplement  the  work  of 
the  people.  It  will  continue  to  carry  out  great  projects  of  im 
provement,  which,  while  necessary  for  the  general  welfare,  do 


A   FORECAST  OF   THE  FUTURE  233 

not  offer  sufficient  pecuniary  reward  to  tempt  private  capital. 
It  will  continue  to  make  surveys,  and  to  prosecute  scientific 
researches,  which  redound  to  the  benefit  of  all,  and  to  collect 
and  disseminate  information  in  aid  of  the  industries. 

The  utter  savagery  and  folly  of  the  spoils  system  will  be 
thoroughly  realized  long  before  the  second  century  has  passed, 
and  the  reforms  recently  introduced  into  the  civil  service  will 
have  been  perfected  and  extended,  to  a  point  where  the  govern 
mental  machinery  will  remain  unaltered  while  administrations 
come  and  go.  A  change  of  administration  will,  in  the  future, 
involve  a  change  in  those  offices  only  which  are  concerned  with 
the  policy  of  the  government,  and  not  with  its  routine. 

When  that  day  arrives,  the  political  party  as  it  now  exists 
—a  party  well-nigh  without  an  issue,  an  utterly  illogical  group 
ing  of  men,  held  together  bv  a  name  and  a  thirst  for  office — will 
cease  to  exist.  In  its  place  will  be  found  men  grouping  them 
selves  about  a  preexisting  issue  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
and  carrying  it  out  under  the  government.  The  party  will  have 
a  reason  for  its  existence,  and  its  members  will  be  able  to  account 
for  their  allegiance. 

The  I^ople, — Our  vast  preponderance  over  the  other 
nations  of  the  North  American  continent  will,  ere  long,  draw 
them  into  our  body  politic;  our  descendants  will  be  citizens  of 
a  republic  whose  dominion  shall  extend  from  Crreenland  to 
Panama,  and  whose  sixty-three  millions  of  to-day  will  have 
swollen  in  a  century  to  half  a  billion. 

But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  enumeration  of  popula- 
lation  conveys  little  idea  of  the  industrial  strength  of  the  country. 
We  have  grown  in  numbers  from  four  to  sixty-three  millions ; 
but  this  proportion  of  nearly  sixteen  to  one  is  utterly  inadequate 
to  characterize  the  growth  of  our  industrial  capacity.  Within 
the  century,  we  have  invented  and  perfected  machines  for  mak 
ing  almost  everything,  and  our  productive  capacity  per  man  has 
become  thereby  at  least  ten  times  as  great  as  it  was  a  century  ago. 

The  substitution  of  machinery  for  human  labor  will  go  on 
indefinitely.  Our  children  will  see  man  fullv  emancipated  from 
manual  toil,  and  his  productive  capacitv  vastly  increased  beyond 
even  its  present  proportions. 


234  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

This  increase  will  be  attended  by  a  corresponding  improve 
ment  in  man's  physical  condition,  and  necessarily  in  his  mental 
and  moral  condition  as  well.  Wages  for  all  classes  of  service, 
which  have  been  advanced  so  rapidly  in  recent  times,  will  con 
tinue  to  increase  with  the  increased  efficiency  of  labor;  at  the 
same  time  the  cost  of  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life  will  go 
on  diminishing.  The  masses  will  be  better  fed,  clothed,  and 
housed.  As  civilization  advances,  their  sanitary  condition  will 
improve,  the  death  rate  will  diminish,  and  man  will  live  longer. 
Indeed,  it  is  possible  that  in  the  dim  future  our  descendants 
may  live  to  greater  ages  than  the  patriarchs  of  Mosaic  times. 

The  time  is  near  at  hand  when  immigration  will  be  closely 
restricted,  and  only  the  intelligent  and  industrious  of  Europe 
will  be  allowed  to  make  their  homes  with  us.  This  restriction 
of  immigration  will  greatly  check  the  additions  to  our  numbers 
from  abroad ;  but  their  places  will  be  filled  by  our  own  flesh 
and  blood,  since  natural  increase,  which  has  been  depressed  by 
the  flood  of  immigration,  will  quickly  recover  its  normal  rate. 
With  this  restriction,  also,  illiteracy  will  rapidly  disappear,  and 
before  the  close  of  our  second  century,  the  illiterate  will  be 
reduced  to  as  small  a  percentage  of  the  population  as  they  now 
form  among  the  native  born  of  New_England.  The  restriction 
of  immigration  will  have  a  like  salutary  effect  upon  crime.  Our 
courts  and  jails,  now  full  to  overflowing  with  the  criminals 
unloaded  upon  us  from  Europe,  will  be  found  almost  unoc 
cupied. 

Indiscriminate  charity  breeds  pauperism.  With  the  general 
increase  of  intelligence,  the  community  will  consider  the  subject 
of  charity  more  thoughtfully  and  philosophically  than  hitherto, 
and  will  better  realize  the  extent  of  the  mischief  to  be  wrought 
by  taking  counsel  only  of  its  sympathies.  It  will  rightly  con 
clude  that  the  only  safe  way  of  helping  a  needy  person  is  to 
assist  him  in  helping  himself,  and  that  he  who  will  not  help  him 
self  should,  in  mercy  to  his  fellow-men,  be  permitted  to  suffer 
the  penalty.  The  coming  century  will  see  our  provisions  for 
charity  greatly  reduced,  and  greatly  changed  in  character.  It 
will  aim  to  reduce  pauperism,  not  to  increase  it.  Instead  of 
offering  money  to  the  unfortunate,  they  will  be  given  an  oppor- 


A   FORECAST  OF  THE  FUTURE  235 

tunity  to  better  themselves,  and  the  incorrigible  will  be  allowed 
to  go  to  the  wall. 

With  the  restriction  of  immigration  and  the  exclusion  of  its 
worst  elements,  the  trades__anions,  whose  members  are  almost 
entirely  of  foreign  birth  or  parentage,  will  disappear  from  our 
midst. 

The  colored  race,  upon  which  the  south  depends  for  its  agri 
cultural  service,  will  continue  to  increase  in  numbers,  but  less 
rapidly  than  the  whites,  as  has  been  the  case  heretofore.  There 
will  be  little  mixture  of  races.  Having  no  predilection  for 
manufacturing  pursuits,  the  colored  people  will  remain  wedded 
to  the  soil.  As  manufactures  extend  and  increase  at  the  south, 
and  the  whites  leave  the  farms  for  the  city,  their  places  will  be 
taken  bv  the  colored  people,  who  will  thus  become  the  farmers 
of  that  section.  The  colored  people  will  also  become  the  land 
holders  of  the  south  and  will  produce  the  cotton  of  the  world. 

AVomaii. — The  position  of  woman  in  the  future,  already 
dimly  foreshadowed,  will  be  realized.  She  will  no  longer  be 
secondary  to  man,  but  his  equal,  or  rather  his  supplement.  All 
arts,  all  professions,  all  occupations,  will  bo  open  to  her.  It  does 
not  follow  from  this,  however,  that  she  will  enter  them  all;  for 
the  distinctions  of  sex,  her  mental  peculiarities  and  physical 
limitations,  will  still  enforce  certain  restrictions.  As  she  ac 
quires  greater  ability  to  reason  logically,  to  control  her  impulses 
and  sympathies;  as  she  familiarizes  herself  with  business  meth 
ods,  she  will  take  a  more  active  part  in  business  affairs.  Among 
other  things,  she  will  naturally  assume  her  share  in  the  control 
of  those  great  corporations  known  as  municipal,  state,  and 
national  governments,  as  soon  as  her  assistance  in  that  work 
becomes  of  service. 

Language. — Prominent  among  the  other  improvements  we 
are  destined  to  make,  will  be  the  simplification  of  our  language. 
It  is  estimated  that  two  years  of  the  life  of  every  American 
child  is  to-day  wasted  in  learning  the  intricacies  and  inconsis 
tencies  of  the  orthography  of  the  language.  Add  to  this  the  time 
devoted,  in  later  years,  to  searching  dictionaries  for  the  accepted 
spelling  of  words,  and  to  the  mere  writing  of  unnecessary  letters, 
and  one  can  appreciate  the  enormous  expense  entailed  by  the 


236  THE  BUILDING   OF  A   NATION 

defects  of  our  language — defects  originally  introduced  mainly 
by  the  whims  of  the  first  makers  of  dictionaries. 

Language  is  merely  a  means  for  the  expression  of  thought. 
As  such,  it  should  be  as  simple  and  as  efficient  a  tool  as  possi 
ble;  and  matters  concerning  the  orisrin  of  words  and  the  de- 

/  O  c 

velopment  of  language  should  be  held  as  trifles,  compared  with 
its  efficiency  as  a  means  qf^ communication. 

This  view  is  sure  to  prevail  sooner  or  later;  and  phonetic 
spelling  and  a  simple,  consistent  grammar,  are  only  a  question  of 
time. 

Cities. — Among  the  reforms  of  the  future  which  will  con 
tribute  toward  long  life,  improvement  in  health,  and  reduction 
in  the  death  rate,  is  the  extension  and  spreading  out  of  cities, 
referred  to  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  street  railways.  By 
the  aid  of  electric  roads,  carrying  passengers  swiftly  to  and  fro 
between  the  heart  of  the  city  and  the  suburbs,  the  crowding  and 
congesting  of  our  .great  centers  of  population  will  cease.  Tene 
ment  houses  will  be  depleted  of  their  teeming  and  suffering 
thousands,  and  in  place  thereof  square  leagues  will  be  dotted 
with  detached  cottages  and  villas  surrounded  by  green  grass 
and  waving  trees.  The  densely  settled  states  of  the  future  will 
become  continuous  cities,  and  the  city,  as  a  crowded,  congested 
congregation  of  human  beings,  will  cease  to  exist.  The  only 
closely  built  areas  will  be  those  devoted  to  the  needs  of  com 
merce. 

Corporations. — Corporations  will  continue  to  increase  in 
wealth  and  power,  consolidating  with  one  another  until  they 
become  of  enormous  magnitude.  But  as  their  wealth  and  power 
increase,  and  as  they  grow  more  independent  of  competition 
except  from  the  community  they  serve,  more  and  more  will  the 
government  assume  control  over  them,  acting  upon  the  theory 
that  they  are  agencies  for  the  service  of  the  people,  and  to  be 
'  controlled,  so  far  as  may  be  necessary,  by  the  people.  The  busi 
ness  of  transportation,  grown  to  such  dimensions  as  to  dwarf  our 
present  enormous  traffic,  may  pass  into  very  few  hands  and  yet 
be  as  easily  controlled  and  serve  the  public  needs  quite  as  well, 
as  the  telegraph  business  of  to-day. 

Agriculture. — Before  the  lapse  of   many   years  we  shall 


A   FORECAST  OF  THE  FUTURE  237 

have  reached  the  conviction  that  our  manufacturing  industries 
are  no  longer  in  their  infancy,  but  have  grown  to  the  stature  of 
manhood,  and  are  able  to  maintain  themselves.  When  that  time 
arrives  we  will  make  haste  to  pull  down  the  barriers  of  protec 
tion  which  we  have  erected,  and  thereby  enlarge  our  markets  so 
as  to  include  the  nations  of  the  world.  Then  will  our  foreign 
trade  become  of  relative  importance.  Then  will  we  supply  not 
only  food,  but  clothing,  and  all  other  kinds  of  manufactured 
articles  as  well,  to  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world. 

Let  us  run  over  the  list  and  see  what  we  are  likely  to  be  able 
to  do  for  the  support  of  mankind  in  the  coming  century.  In  the 
matter  of  agriculture  we  have  subdued  and  devoted  to  the  service 
of  man  only  about  one-sixth  of  our  area,  excluding  Alaska.  This 
is  less  than  one-third  of  the  territory  which  we  can  reasonably 
hope  to  bring  under  cultivation.  Our  rugged  mountains  and 
waterless  deserts,  which  comprise  possibly  two-fifths  of  our  terri 
tory,  we  can  hardly  expect  to  devote  to  agriculture;  but  by 
utilizing  all  our  arable  land  we  may  hope  in  the  future  to 
produce  three  times  as  much  from  our  territory  as  at  present. 
Furthermore,  all  experience  goes  to  prove  that  as  the  country 
becomes  morecloselv  settled,  cultivation  becomes  more  thorough, 
and  the  soil  is  made  to  yield  a  richer  return  per  acre.  Thus  by 
extending  the  area  of  cultivated  land,  and  by  more  thorough 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  our  agricultural  industries  will  yield  year 
by  year  a  greater  surplus  over  the  needs  of  our  population  ;  and 
year  by  year,  a  constantly  increasing  proportion  of  the  products 
of  our  soil  will  be  sent  abroad,  to  aid  in  the  support  of  the  over 
crowded  millions  of  Europe. 

Another  score  of  years  will  see  all  the  lands  within  the  arid 
region,  which  are  susceptible  of  irrigation,  taken  up  and  placed 
under  cultivation,  and  a  reflex  wave  of  migration  will  occupy 
the  abandoned  farms  and  plantations  of  the  east,  and  restore 
them  to  the  service  of  man. 

Migration  to  Canada,  Mexico,  and  the  Central  American 
states,  which  has  never  prospered  under  their  present  forms  of 
government,  will  receive  a  great  stimulus  when  these  countries 
become  integral  parts  of  the  Eepublic.  The  American  farmer 
will  spread  across  the  border  and  occupy  the  fertile  iields  of  the 


238  THE  BUILDING   OF  A  NATION 

Saskatchewan  and  tbe  mountain  valleys  of  the  Columbia  and 
Fraser,  pushing  his  outposts  northward  as  far  as  the  cereals  will 
grow.  Southward  he  will  occupy  the  rich  lands  of  the  tierra 
caliente  and  the  tierra  templada  of  Mexico  and  the  valleys  and 
plains  of  Central  America,  where  he  will  introduce  to  the  people 
of  those  regions  enlightened  methods  of  farming,  and  will  ener 
gize  the  whole  communit}'. 

Manufactures. — Meantime,  while  the  farmers,  the  van 
guard  of  civilization,  are  extending  our  frontier  of  settlement, 
the  frontier  of  manufacturing  industry  will  continue  its  steady 
advance.  From  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  the  Ohio  river  and  the 
Mississippi,  which  now  define  its  line  of  march  in  general  terms, 
it  will  spread  both  southward  and  westward.  In  the  southern 
Appalachians,  in  the  mountains  of  the  Virginias,  Kentuckv, 
Tennessee,  the  Carol  in  as,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  will  soon 
be  developed  a  second  Pennsylvania,  greater  and  richer  than 
that  of  the  north. 

It  seems  a  curious  waste  of  energy  to  transport  the  raw 
material  of  manufactures  thousands  of  miles,  there  to  undergo  a 
change  of  form  and  to  be  returned  to  the  starting  place,  perhaps, 
in  the  shape  of  the  finished  product.  In  this  way  two-thirds  of 
the  cotton  crop  of  the  United  States  is  annually  transported  to 
Europe,  where  it  is  manufactured  into  cloth.  A  considerable 
proportion  of  the  resulting  cloth  is  transported  back  to  this 
country,  some  of  it  to  the  very  states  in  which  the  cotton  was 
grown.  This  is  a  maladjustment  of  things,  which  in  the  future 
will  be  remedied.  The  manufacture  of  cotton  will  be  carried  on 
mainly  at  the  south  where  the  material  is  raised,  and  the  cost  of 
transportation  and  handling  will  thereby  be  greatly  reduced. 
Indeed,  the  cotton  states  will  become  the  center  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  of  the  world,  and  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  when 
this  time  arrives  the  cotton  factories  of  New  England  and  Great 
Britain  will  have  seen  their  best  days,  and  that  manufactured 
cotton  will  be  exported  from  New  Or  leans, -Mobile,  Charleston, 
and  Newport  News,  as  it  is  now  from  Liverpool  and  London. 

Coal. — The  coal  supply  of  this  country  is  simply  incalcula 
ble.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  square  miles  are  underlaid  by 
coal  beds.  Their  extent  is  so  vast  and  the  quantity  of  coal 


A   FORECAST  OF  THE  FUTURE  239 

so  immense,  that  although  thousands  of  millions  of  tons  have 
already  been  taken  from  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  the  comparative 
loss  is  utterly  inappreciable.  For  many  centuries  to  come  the 
United  States  can  supply  the  whole  world  with  fuel  without 
materially  depleting  her  resources  of  coal.  On  the  little  island, 
which  is  our  mother  country,  a  different  state  of  things  prevails. 
Its  coal  supply  is  limited,  and  at  the  present  rate  of  mining  a 
few  score  years  will  exhaust  it,  and  the  mother  may  be  obliged 
to  turn  to  her  child  for  fuel,  which  is  the  source  of  power.  But 
this  is  not  all.  The  failure  of  England's  coal  supply  may  cause 
the  failure  of  her  iron  industry ;  and  in  this  event  America  will 
be  called  upon  to  furnish  the  world  with  its  iron  and  steel  as 
well. 

Electricity. — The  transmission  of  power  in  the  form  of 
electricity  is  destined  to  work  great  economies  in  industry,  trans 
portation,  and  social  life.  There  is  no  longer  a  doubt  that  in 
this  form  power  may  be  developed  on  an  immense  scale;  trans 
ported  to  great  distances  from  the  point  of  its  generation ; 
retained  on  draught,  as  it  were,  for  long  periods  of  time;  sub 
divided  at  will,  and  changed  in  volume  or  intensity.  Therefore, 
who  can  question  that  force,  in  the  form  of  electricity,  will 
become  as  completely  subject  to  the  needs  and  uses  of  civilized 
man,  as  matter  itself? 

The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  our  railway  passenger  trains 
will  be  run  by  it,  thus  obviating  the  use  of  heavy  locomotives 
and  tenders,  with  their  cargoes  of  coal  and  water.  This  will 
permit  of  attaining  greater  speed,  and  greater  comfort  to  pas 
sengers.  By  electric  trains,  running  on  improved  alignments, 
grades,  and  roadbeds,  we  may  reasonably  expect  our  descendants 
to  cross  the  continent  in  twenty -four  hours,  with  less  discomfort 
than  now  attends  a  journey  from  New  York  to  Chicago. 

Horses,  deposed  by  the  storage  battery,  will  disappear  from 
our  roads  and  streets ;  and  all  work,  from  rocking  the  cradle  to 
drawing  the  hearse,  from  running  a  sewing-machine  to  the  opera 
tion  of  a  railway  system,  will  be  done  by  electricity.  The  next 
will,  indeed,  be  the  electric  age, 


FINIS 


LITTLE  did  the  great  admiral  imagine,  when,  on  the  early 
morning  of  October  21,  1492,  from  the  lookout  of  the  Santa 
Maria,  he  first  descried  the  shores  of  America,  what  tremendous 
results  were  to  follow  his  discovery,  what  world-wide  changes  it 
was  destined  to  produce.  He  little  foresaw  that  upon  the  land 
which  he,  an  Italian,  in  the  service  of  Spain,  unfolded  to  the 
world,  would  develop  a  nation  of  English  blood,  greater  and 
stronger,  and  with  a  higher  civilization,  than  any  of  the  powers 
of  Europe. 

Like  many  another  of  the  world's  heroes,  he  builded  better 
than  he  knew.  The  long  list  of  those  to  whom  this  country  is 
chiefly  indebted  must  forever  open  with  his  name. 


INDEX 


Accessions  of  Territory 46 

Agriculture 163 

"  Department  of 21-2-3 

"  general  statistics  of 164 

importance  of,  relative  to  manufactures 164 

of  the  future 236 

Agricult  ami  capital 164,  165 

"  products,  value  of 164,  165 

Alabama  25 

Alaska 4.  25 

purchase  of 46 

Algonquin  Indians 99 

Aliens  126 

Allegheny  plateau 7 

Altitude,  distribution  of  population  according  to 84 

American  Federation  of  Labor 143 

Annexations  of  territory 46 

Apache  Indians 100 

Appalachian  mountains 6 

valley  6 

Areas  of  states  and  territories 30 

Area  of  United  States  . 5 

Arizona 25 

Arkansas 25 

Army 41 

Artesian  wells 175 

Assessed  valuation  in  1890 227 

Athabascan  Indians 100 

Atlantic  coast 5 

"  plain 7 

Attendance  at  schools 131 

"  ';  colleges  and  professional  schools 132 

Austrians  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of Ill 

Baptists 148 

16 


242  INDEX 

PAGE 

Bighorn  mountains,  Wyoming 9 

Black  mountains,  North  Carolina 7 

Blue  Ridge 6 

Bohemians  in  the  United  States,  history  of 110 

Books,  publication  of 183 

Brazil,  commerce  with 214 

British  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of Ill 

Budget 40 

Building  associations 221 

Bureau  of  Statistics  of  Treasury 21 

Cabinet 18 

Cable  railways 216 

Caddo  Indians 99 

California 26 

Canada,  commerce  with 214 

Canadians  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of Ill 

history  of 110 

Carolinas,  settlement  of 52 

Cascade  range 11 

Cash  sales  of  public  lands .  49 

Catholics  147 

Cattle,  distribution  of 172 

Causes  of  prosperity    ,. 2 

Census  Office 23 

Center  of  population 71 

movements  of 71 

Cessions  of  lands,  by  states 46 

Charity,  future  reforms  in 234 

Cherokee  Indians 100 

Chickasaw  Indians 100 

Chinese  in  the  United  States,  statistical  history  and  distribution  of 98 

"       number  of,  in  the  United  States 90 

"       Exclusion  Act 98 

Choctaw  Indians 100 

Christians 148 

Church  members,  proportion  to  population 150 

' '       property,  value  of 146 

Circuit  courts 19 

Circulating  media 219 

Cities,  constituents  of  the  population  of 121 

"     of  the  future 236 

Civil  divisions  of  counties 31,  32 

Civil  Service  Commission 24 

Coal 187 

"     supply  for  the  future 238 

Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey 22 


INDEX  243 

PAGE 

Coast  ranges c 11 

"      traffic 208 

Coinage 220 

Colleges 132 

Colonies,  population  of 52 

Colorado 26 

Colored,  number  at  each  census. ...    91 

"         race,  future  of 235 

"            "      relative  diminution  of 92 

"         rates  of  increase  of .  92 

"         southward  movement  of 97 

Commerce 209 

Comptroller  of  the  Currency 21 

Congregationalists 149 

Congress,  committees  of 19 

Conjugal  condition 159 

"               "          of  colored 160 

"               "           ';  foreign  born 160 

"               "           "  native  whites 160 

Connecticut 26 

Constituents  of  population,  summary  of 123 

Constitution  of  United  States 1 

Copper 191 

Cordilleran  plateau 8 

Cordilleras  of  North  America 8 

Corporations  of  the  future 236 

Cotton 169 

"      manufactures 182 

Counties  . .    31,  32 

(V)unty  debt 33,  37 

Creek  Indians 100 

Crime 156 

"      restriction  of,  in  future 234 

Cuba,  commerce  with 214 

Cumberland  plateau 7 

Death,  causes  of 153 

rate,  general 152 

of  future 234 

"    rates  in  foreign  countries 155 

Debts  of  government 33 

Delaware 26 

Density  of  population 62 

"     "             "         by  groups 67 

"     "             '•         "    states 68 

"     "             "         in  foreign  countries 64 

Departments  of  Government 18,  20 


244  INDEX 

PAGE 

Desert  Land  Act 49 

Disposal  of  Public  Lands 48 

District  courts 19 

District  of  Columbia 25 

Divorce , 161 

Early  settlements 51 

Education 130 

"        Bureau  of 23 

li        expenditures  for 131 

Electors  for  President 17 

Electric  railways 216 

Electricity,  future  developments  of 239 

Elements  of  population,  summary  of 123 

Elk  mountains,  Colorado 9 

Engineering  works 204 

Engraving  and  Printing,  Bureau  of 21 

Enrollment  in  schools 130 

Episcopalians 149 

Ethnology,  Bureau  of 2i 

Executive  departments 20 

Expenditure  on  public  schools 131 

Expenditures  of  government 40 

Exports 211 

Extent  of  settlement 63,  64 

Families,  size  of 86 

Farming  tools  and  machinery,  value  of 164,  165 

Farms,  average  size  of 164,  165 

"        number  of 164,  165 

value  of  164,  165 

Finance  and  wealth 219 

Finis 240 

Fish  Commission 23 

Florida 26 

' '       purchase 46 

Foreign  blood,  amount  of,  in  country 119 

' '       born,  birthplace  of 108 

by  states 105 

"          "       distribution  of 105 

"           "       history  of  different  nationalities  constituting  it 109 

"          "       illiteracy  of 115 

"          "       in  cities 113 

«      nationalities  of 108 

"           "      occupations  of 114 

"          "       population 102 

' '       proportion  of,  by  states 106 

"        commerce . .                                                     210 


INDEX  245 

PAGE 

Foreign  commerce,  history  of 213 

';        parentage 118 

distribution  of  population  of 119 

population  of,  in  cities 121 

Forests 15 

France,  commerce  with 213 

Front  range,  Colorado 9 

Future,  forecast  of 231 

Gadsden  purchase 46 

Geographic  distribution  of  population 82 

Geological  Survey 23 

Georgia 20 

'•       settlement  of 52 

Germans  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of , Ill 

history  of 110 

Germany,  commerce  with 213 

Geysers  12 

Geyser  basins 12 

Gold 190 

"     in  circulation 219 

Government 16 

debts 32 

'•           general 17 

of  states 24 

''           future  development  of ...  231 

Great  Basin 10 

Great  Britain,  commerce  with 213 

Great  cit  ies 80 

"      plains 8 

Hay 171 

Hogs,  distribution  of    173 

Homestead  Act 49 

Horses,  distribution  of 172 

Hot  Springs 12 

Hungarians  in  the  United  States,  history  of    Ill 

Ilydrographic  Office 22 

Idaho 26 

Illinois    26 

Illiteracy 127 

"         census  statistics  of 128 

distribution  of 128 

"         reduction  of,  in  future   234 

Immigration 103 

character  of 104 

constituents  of 104 

"           effect  of,  upon  natural  increase 115 


246  INDEX 

PAGE 

Immigration,  effect  of,  on  native  element 118 

future  of 234 

Imports 211 

Improved  land 164,  165 

"     distribution  of 166 

Increase  of  population,  considerations  affecting 58 

Indian  corn 168 

Indian  Territory 26 

Indiana 26 

Indians 99 

"      citizen,  in  the  United  States 90 

"      cost  of  maintaining 101 

number  of 100 

"       progress  in  civilization 101 

"      treatment  of 100 

Industrial  republic,  an .. 1 

Interior  Department 21,  23 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission 23 

Invention 144 

Iowa 26 

Irish  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of Ill 

history  of 110 

Iron  and  steel  manufactures 180 

Iron  ore 189 

Iroquois  Indians 99 

Irrigated  area 174 

Irrigation 173 

Italians  in  the  United  States,  history  of 110 

Jamestown,  Va.,  settlement  of 51 

Japanese,  number  in  the  United  States 90 

Judiciary 19 

Justice,  Department  of 20,  22 

Kansas    27 

Kentucky 27 

Kiowa  Indians 100 

Labor,  Department  of 24 

Land  bounties 49 

"     grants  to  railways  49 

Language,  development  of 235 

Latter  Day  Saints 149 

Lead 192 

Life  Saving  Service 22 

Light-house  establishment 22 

Live  stock 171 

"         "      distribution  of 172 

Louisiana 27 


INDEX  247 

PAGE 

Louisiana  purchase 46 

Lutherans 148 

Mail  service 217 

Maine 27 

Maize,  production  of 168 

Malt  liquors,  production  of 184 

Manufactures 176 

general  statistics  of 176 

of  great  cities  179 

"  the  future 238 

Manufacturing  capital 178 

Maryland  . 27 

settlement  of 52 

Massachusetts  Bay  colony 51 

Merchant  fleet  of  the  United  States 206 

Method  of  survey  of  public  lands     47 

Methodists 147 

Mexican  cession 46 

Michigan 27 

Middle  Park,  Colorado 9 

Military  forces 41 

Militia. 41 

potential 42 

Mineral  resources 186 

Minnesota 27 

Mint  Bureau 21 

Mississippi 27 

valley 7 

Missouri    ' 28 

Mold  Indians   99 

Money  in  circulat ion 219 

Montana   28 

Mortality 151 

"         census  statistics  of , 151 

"         in  registration  cities 154 

Mormons 149 

Mulattoes,  number  in  the  United  States 90 

Mules,  distribution  of 172 

Municipal  debt 33,  37 

Muskogee  Indians 99 

National  banks 220 

"       debt 33 

' '       domain 4 

"       Museum 24 

Native  born  population 102 

"         "     white  population 102 


248  INDEX 

PAGE 

Nativity  of  population 102 

Natural  gas 194 

Nautical  Almanac  Office 23 

Naval  Observatory 23 

Navy 44 

"     Department 20,  22 

Nebraska 28 

Negroes,  number  of,  in  the  United  States 90 

Nevada 28 

New  Hampshire 28 

New  Jersey 28 

New  Mexico 28 

New  York 28 

"         "     the  greater 81 

"         "    when  colonized 52 

Newspapers r 183 

North  Carolina 28 

North  Dakota 28 

North  Park,  Colorado 9 

Oats 160 

Occupations 133 

"            changes  in 141 

"            criticism  of  census  schedule  of 133 

"           distribution  of  classes  of 135 

nativity  with  relation  to 138 

' '            of  immigrants 140 

Octoroons,  number  in  the  United  States 90 

Ohio 29 

Oklahoma 29 

Oregon 29 

Ozark  hills 7 

Pacific  coast 5 

Park  range,  Colorado 9 

Pauperism  in  the  United  States 158 

' '          classification  of,  by  race  and  nativity 159 

Pennsylvania 29 

' '            when  colonized 52 

Pensions 45 

People,  future  progress  of 233 

Periodicals 183 

Petroleum 193 

Pima  Indians 100 

Plateau  region 9 

Plymouth  colony 51 

Poles  in  the  United  States,  history  of 110 

Population 51 


INDEX  249 

PAGE 

Population  by  states  in  1890 55 

density  of,  in  the  United  States 62 

"           geographic  distribution  of 82 

increase  of 53 

of  colonies 52 

''  countries  of  the  globe  in  1890 54 

"  states,  rate  of  increase  of 56 

"       "        recent  changes  in 60 

"  the  United  States  at  each  census 53 

Post  Office  Department 20,  22 

"         "      statistics  of 218 

Potatoes 171 

Powers,  distribution  of 20 

Preemption 48 

Presbyterians 148 

Presidency,  succession  to 18 

President 17 

'•         salary  of 18 

Prisoners  in  the  United  States 156 

classification  of,  by  race  and  nativity 157 

Professional  schools 132 

Prosperity,  causes  of 2 

Public  lands 45 

"         "      amount  alienated 49 

"         *'      method  of  disposal 48 

"        "      method  of  survey 47 

"      schools 130 

Puget  Sound 11 

Quadroons,  number  in  the  United  States 90 

Quicksilver 193 

Races 90 

Races,  distribution  by  states 94 

' '                             at  each  census 96 

"       proportions  of,  at  each  census 91 

"       statistical  history  of,  in  the  United  States 91 

Railway  accidents 203 

"         companies,  consolidation  of 201 

' '         land  grants 49 

mileage  compared  with  population  in  countries  in  1890 199 

"        mileage  of  all  countries  in  1890 198 

"         transportation,  cost  of 202 

Railways 196 

"  *    growth  of  system,  1830  to  1890 , 197 

mileage  of,  in  1891 196 

"       objects  of  construction 203 

"       of  United  States,  general  statistics 200 


250  INDEX 


Railways,  organization  of 201 

Rainfall,  distribution  of  population  according  to 83 

of  United  States 13 

"  "  eastern  United  States 13 

"  western  United  States 14 

Rainier,  Mount 11 

Receipts  of  government 40 

Register  of  the  Treasury 21 

Regular  army 41 

Relative  standing  of  states  in  population 62 

Relief  of  the  country 5 

Religion 146 

Religious  communicants,  distribution  of 149 

"  denominations,  membership  of 146 

Representatives,  House  of 18 

Rhode  Island 29 

River  traffic 208 

Rocky  mountains 9 

Rolling  stock  of  railways 203 

Rural  population 75 

"  "  increase  of 77 

Russians  in  the  United  States,  history  of 110 

Salt 194 

Salt  Lake  basin 11 

Sangre  de  Cristo  range,  Colorado 9 

San  Juan  mountains,  Colorado 9 

San  Luis  Park 9 

Savings  banks 221 

Sawatch  range,  Colorado 9 

Scandinavians  in  the  United  States,  distribution  of Ill 

"  history  of 110 

School  district  debt ! 33,  38 

Seminole  Indians 100 

Senate 18 

Settled  area 66 

"  "  and  population,  rates  of  increase  compared 67 

"  "  classification  of 67 

Settlement,  extent  of  63 

in  1890 65 

Sex 88 

"  proportions  of,  in  foreign  countries 88 

states 89 

Shasta,  Mount 11 

Sheep,  distribution  of 172 

Ship  building 214 

Shoshone  Indians  ....  99 


INDEX  251 

PAGE 

Sierra  Nevada 11 

Silk  manufactures 183 

Silver 191 

in  circulation 219 

Sioux  Indians 99 

Size  of  families 86 

Smithsonian  Institution 24 

South  Carolina 29 

South  Dakota 29 

South  Park,  Colorado 9 

Spirits,  production  of 184 

State  debts 33,  36 

State,  Department  of 20,  21 

States,  organization  of , 24 

Statistics,  Bureau  of 21 

Steel 190 

Street  railways 216 

Summary  of  constituents  of  population 123 

Subdivisions  of  states  and  counties 31 

Supreme  Court 19 

Swamp  lands  given  to  states 49 

Telegraphs 215 

Telephones 215 

Temperature,  distribution  of  population  according  to 82 

Temperature  of  the  United  States IS 

Tennessee 29 

Texas 29 

"      annexation  of 46 

Timber  Culture  Act 49 

Tobacco 166 

Trades  unions 143 

'"           "        future  of 235 

Traffic  statistics  of  railways 200 

Transportation 105 

Treasurer  of  United  States 21 

Treasury  Department 20.  21 

Urban  population 74 

by  states 79 

"               "          distribution  of 77 

increase  of 77 

Utah 29 

Vermont 29 

Vessels  in  foreign  trade 207 

Vice-President 17 

salary  of 18 

Virginia 30 


252  INDEX 

PAGE 

Volcanic  action 12 

Voters,  potential 124 

Wages 142 

"      in  manufactures  ...    178 

Wagon  roads 195 

War  Department 20,  22 

Water  transportation 206 

Wealth 221 

"      distribution  of 228 

•  "      historical  resume  of 224 

"      in  1890 223 

"      methods  of  estimating 221 

' '      sources  of  increase  in 227 

Weather  Bureau 23 

West  Virginia 30 

Wheat 167 

Whites,  number  of,  at  each  census 91 

"       rates  of  increase  of 92 

Wind  River  Range,  Wyoming 9 

Wines,  production  of 184 

Wisconsin 30 

Woman  in  the  future 235 

Wool  manufactures 182 

Wyoming 30 

Yellowstone  Park 12 

Yum  a  Indians 100 

Zinc 193 

Zoological  Park 24 


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